Steven Soles Jr. is settling into Arkansas with a clear role in mind: get after the quarterback.
The junior defensive lineman, listed at 6-2 and 235 pounds, could end up being a key piece for the Razorbacks this season in the hybrid defensive end/linebacker spot. After two seasons at Kentucky, Soles arrives in Fayetteville with some production already on his résumé and a chance to build on a 3.5-sack season in 2025.
His time with the Wildcats gave Arkansas a pretty good idea of what it’s getting. Soles played in 22 games at Kentucky and finished with 16 tackles, including 12 solo stops and four assists, along with 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
Last season, his 3.5 sacks tied for the team lead. His biggest game came in Kentucky’s season-opening 24-16 win over Toledo, when he posted two sacks and two forced fumbles.
Spring practice gave Soles a first look at how he fits in Arkansas’ system, and he ended the Red-White Game on April 25 with a strong showing: three tackles and a game-high two sacks, though those were proximity sacks because the quarterbacks weren’t live. Soles said the transition took some adjustment, but he feels good about where things stand now.
"He didn't call them all," Soles said. "He liked to give the offense grace.
I feel like my spring has been good. Honestly, I ain't going to say it started off rough, but just getting adjusted to a totally new system, new setting, new area, new coaches.
But it's been good.
"I feel like everybody is really working towards one goal. We all love each other.
I'd say I love my brothers every day, and I try to enforce and let them know. I'm not just saying that to be funny or nothing.
I live by y'all, I die by y'all. So, it's been good to me.
Fayetteville is home now, and I'm loving it."
Arkansas also appears to have some depth around the jack spot, with junior Charlie Collins, redshirt sophomore Jamonta Waller and redshirt freshman Trent Sellers in the mix. Collins began his career at Arkansas as a top-100 recruit, while Waller came over from Auburn after signing in 2024 as a top-100 recruit. Sellers is in his second year in Fayetteville and, for now, isn’t really pushing the top three for snaps.
For Soles, the competition is part of the deal, but he sees it as a shared effort rather than a battle for individual credit.
"It's competition, but honestly, it's lifting as we climb," Soles said. "Charlie might have a great day.
I might have a bad day. It's competition, but we don't really try to look at it like that because at the end of the day, we're a family.
"We look at it as like, say I go out and start, I'm going to work this tackle for five, six hard plays. We rotate.
You go in and work them for five or six plays, we're all going to eat. We're all going to be able to capitalize off that.
We're a working unit. It's not really one guy or certain guys.
We're going to get it rolling."
Arkansas is in its eight-week summer training cycle and working through OTAs. Players report for fall camp on Aug. 4, with the first practice set for Aug.
- The Razorbacks open the season against North Alabama on September 5 at Razorback Stadium.
In Other News...
Calipari Has A Razorbacks Problem He May Not Be Able To Ignore
JaShawn Andrews arrived in Fayetteville with the kind of profile that usually forces a coach to make room for him eventually. The five-star guard brings the size, athleticism and scoring ability that made him one of Arkansas most intriguing recent recruits, and under John Calipari he looks like the sort of player who can grow into a major piece even if he is not handed that status immediately.
For now, though, the question is less about talent than timing. Most projections have Andrews starting out behind other guards in the rotation, and his exact role is still being sorted out as the season nears. He has the tools to push for meaningful minutes quickly, but Arkansas still has to decide how to fit a player with his upside into a backcourt that already has other options ahead of him. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas Mourns The Loss Of Razorbacks Legend Bill Burnett
Bill Burnett, one of the most accomplished players in Arkansas football history, has died at 78 after an extended battle with memory loss. A Razorbacks legend from his playing days from 1968 to 1970, Burnett still stands as the programs all-time scoring leader and built a rsum that earned him spots in multiple halls of fame, underscoring just how central he was to the schools record book and identity.
His wife confirmed his death and said Burnett had faced severe memory loss in recent years, a painful final chapter for a player whose name has long carried weight in Fayetteville. For Arkansas, the loss lands as more than an obituary for an old star. It is a reminder of how deeply those great teams of the past still resonate, and how much of the programs history is tied to figures whose impact still shows up in the record book. [Read more 🡒]