The Arkansas Razorbacks are heading into the season with plenty of skepticism around them, but there are also real reasons to think this group can outplay the noise.
Start with the coaching staff. It’s easy to pile on a brand-new group and more than 80 new players before they’ve even taken a snap together, but coach Silverfield’s track record makes that hard to do.
He has been successful everywhere else he’s been, and he hasn’t been on a coaching staff with a losing record since his first season at the college level in 2006 at Central Florida. Since taking over at Memphis, he has beaten Iowa State, West Virginia, Florida State, Mississippi State and Arkansas.
That leaves him 5-1 against Power Conference opponents and 5-1 against coaches currently in the SEC.
The quarterback situation is another reason Arkansas could be better than expected. The old line goes, "If you've got two quarterbacks, you don't have none." -NFL legend John Madden
That doesn’t mean the Razorbacks should expect a Chris Leak-Tim Tebow type of setup, but there is a path where both KJ Jackson and AJ Hill give Arkansas something usable at the position. Both arrived as top-10 passers after prolific prep careers, and they bring different skillsets to the table. The best outcome is for that battle to settle in fall camp instead of drifting into the season, but the bigger point is simple: Arkansas may be fine with either one leading the offense.
The defense has a chance to look much different, too, and that matters because no offense can cover for a unit that keeps giving it back. Arkansas has lived with that problem for much of the past decade, including pass coverage finishes in the bottom 100 among FBS teams. This offseason, secondary coaches Eddie Hicks, Deron WIlson and CJ Wiliford brought in 14 defensive backs through the portal and high school recruiting, with Miguel Mitchell the lone returnee from a defense that allowed nearly 240 yards per game and 22 passing touchdowns.
There’s also a long list of new faces expected to matter right away, including Jahiem Johnson, La'Khi Roland, Carter Stoutmire, Christian Harrison, Khmori House and Shelton Lewis. The hope is that those players bring the kind of turnover production and splash plays that defensive coordinator Ron Roberts wants to build around this fall.
Arkansas also has a back who could change the feel of the run game. The Natural State native is in the best shape of his college career after a major offseason transformation from his listed playing weight in 2025. That should make him more explosive in a rushing attack that is expected to feature more downhill physicality and shorter splits than in previous seasons.
Russell, 6-foot-1, 227 pounds, put up more than 3,574 total yards of offense and 52 touchdowns over his final two seasons at the varsity level. A lot of that damage came in the first half of games at Benton, when blowouts and mercy rules kept him from playing much after halftime. He could have entered the transfer portal again and drawn interest from around the country, but he stayed with Arkansas and has become a leader in the running backs room.
“He's looking good, looking strong, looking a lot faster,” running backs coach David Johnson said during spring practice. “He's buying in. He's doing a good job of kind of being one of the leaders in that room.”
The pass rush is where the boldest optimism comes in. Arkansas has struggled to generate much pressure over the past two seasons, but the move to a hybrid 3-4 look gives Roberts more ways to attack. Quincy Rhodes is coming off a season with eight sacks, and the Razorbacks will need others to step up, including JACK linebackers Charlie Collins, Jamonta Waller and Steven Soles.
Soles earned the nickname "Sack'Em" from his father during his time at Kentucky, and he backed it up by being productive under former coach Mark Stoops. Arkansas also has another option in linebacker Ja'Quavion Smith, who transferred in from Howard (FCS) and has already drawn praise from Silverfield during spring practice.
The numbers from last season show exactly why this matters. Arkansas finished with just 22 sacks, which ranked No. 93 nationally, and only 12 of those came against SEC competition. Getting into the mid-30s would change the look of the defense in a hurry, and that kind of jump is one of the clearest ways for a team to flip a position group fast.
In Other News...
Arkansas Legend Keeps Trying To Pull Urban Meyer To Fayetteville
Urban Meyer says one of Arkansas most recognizable figures has been trying to lure him to Fayetteville for years, and the pitch apparently has not lost any steam. On The Triple Option podcast, Meyer said the recruiting campaign has stretched across a long span of Arkansas football history, with the message coming up again recently while the two were together at a golf tournament.
The latest round of encouragement came with the Razorbacks still in the middle of their current era under Ryan Silverfield, which only adds to the oddness of the whole thing. Meyer made clear he does not see a path to taking the job, but the persistence of the sales pitch has turned into one of those offbeat Arkansas storylines that keeps resurfacing whenever John Daly and a microphone are in the same orbit. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas 5-Star Guard Just Changed The Razorbacks Backcourt Picture
Arkansas backcourt outlook got a lot more interesting with the addition of Davion Thompson, a five-star point guard who is already ranked No. 25 overall in the 2027 class. The Razorbacks announced Thompson as part of their 2026-27 roster plans, giving the program another high-end guard to pair with Jordan Smith Jr. and Jeremiah Wilkinson as the next wave of perimeter talent starts to take shape.
What makes the move especially notable is how much it could reshape the way Arkansas builds out the rest of its guard board. Thompson is expected to develop at a measured pace, and the staff will have a chance to work him into team settings like the Baha Mar Summer League while deciding how his role evolves alongside an already crowded group. That also leaves the Razorbacks in position to keep pressing ahead with other 2027 backcourt options as they continue sorting out the rest of the class. [Read more 🡒]
Two Arkansas Commits Just Made Calipari's Waiting Game Even Bigger
The Nike EYBL Peach Jam has become a useful snapshot of what Arkansas has coming, with Davion Thompson and Caleb Ourigou both putting their games on display against elite summer competition. Thompson has been the more eye-catching of the two, scoring at a high level and handling the ball for a team that has yet to break through, while Ourigou has given Arkansas a look at size, rebounding and rim protection from the front line.
For John Calipari, the bigger issue is not what these two can do in July, but when they might be ready to arrive in Fayetteville. Both players are expected to reclassify to join the Razorbacks for the upcoming season, but the formal steps are still pending, which leaves Arkansas waiting on a pair of commitments who could alter the roster picture in a hurry once the paperwork catches up to the talent. [Read more 🡒]