Quincy Rhodes Jr. had every reason to leave Arkansas after the 2025 season. Instead, the North Little Rock native decided to run it back for one more year in Fayetteville, and that choice immediately became one of the biggest early wins for new head coach Ryan Silverfield.
Rhodes was sitting off to the side in the press conference area of the Broyles Center inside Razorback Stadium on Dec. 4, 2025, when Silverfield held his first news conference as Arkansas’ head coach. That day, Rhodes and quarterback KJ Jackson were announced as two of the first returnees for Silverfield as he started the work of putting together his first Razorback team.
For Arkansas, keeping Rhodes matters. He was one of the few bright spots on a defense that struggled badly in 2025, and his numbers showed it. In that season, he finished with 43 total tackles, eight sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
At 6-foot-6 and 276 pounds, Rhodes could have entered the NFL Draft after that production. Instead, he chose another season in Fayetteville, where he is expected to be a leader for Ron Roberts’ defense.
Rhodes recently explained the decision to Courtney Mims of FOX16.
"When you go to the next level, it's a man's game," Rhodes recently told Courtney Mims of FOX16. "It's not like how it is in basketball or in MLB [where] you can declare and then take your name out [of the draft].
Once you declare for the draft in the NFL... once you're there, you're there. I don't want to get there and then have to come back home because I moved prematurely.
"I just felt like there were a lot of things I needed to grow mentally and physically on before I took that next step of pursuing my career of being a professional football player."
He also pointed to finishing school as part of the plan.
"I just felt like there were a lot of things I needed to grow mentally and physically on before I took that next step of pursuing my career of being a professional football player. I wanted to finish my degree. School's cool and all, I just wanted to make sure that before I went to the league to get my degree so once football's over, I can have something to fall back on."
Rhodes is 21 and is majoring in Agricultural Leadership. Even so, he could be holding an NFL jersey before he ever gets his UA diploma, with the 2027 NFL Draft in view.
Unless something disastrous happens, Rhodes should be headed to the league after this season. For now, though, Arkansas gets one more year from a player who can add experience, flash his talent, and keep climbing draft boards.
That draft buzz is already real. Rhodes is being viewed as a possible first-round pick next spring, with the mock draft database listing him as high as No. 9 overall to the New Orleans Saints. The broader consensus has him closer to the low-20s, with No. 28 to the Seahawks as the common projection.
If he can put together another season with double-digit tackles for loss and sharpen his pass rush even more, teams near the top of the first round will be paying close attention.
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