Ryan Silverfield is walking into his first season at Arkansas with an old Georgia problem following him.
The new Razorbacks coach, hired after his run at Memphis, was asked at SEC Media Days about the comments he made last year when he used Georgia as an example of the kind of program he does not want to run. Those remarks were aimed at Georgia’s history of player arrests and landed as a clear shot at Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs.
Silverfield backed off that stance quickly.
“When it happened, listen, I’ve got the deep, most respect for Kirby Smart and the Georgia athletic department and everything that he’s about,” Silverfield said via onlineathens.com. “Obviously, he’s done it at a high level so certainly a lot of respect for him.
When it occurred, I reached out to him. He’s always been great to me.
Even at my time at Memphis. He allowed us to come be a part of the camps.
I think he knew that it was no ill will. Listen, I’ve got a lot or respect for him and what they’re doing.”
That explanation may calm things down on the surface, but the timing is awkward. Silverfield made those comments before he was hired by Arkansas, and now he has to answer for them as a head coach in the SEC, where every word gets amplified and every slight tends to linger.
Arkansas already has a brutal matchup coming up with Georgia in Week 3, and the Bulldogs will have plenty to notice beyond the schedule. The Razorbacks are set to host Georgia at 11:00 am CST, a kickoff time Arkansas has already bristled at. The issue, from Arkansas’ point of view, is that the team has a Week 2 trip to Utah for a night game and then has to turn around the next week for an early kickoff against Georgia.
That’s where the frustration comes from. Arkansas sees the scheduling as a disadvantage. Georgia won’t be bothered by it, and after Silverfield’s old comments, there’s even less reason to expect any sympathy from the Bulldogs’ side.
Silverfield may have tried to smooth things over, but the reality is simple: he gave Kirby Smart and Georgia a reason to remember his name. Now the Razorbacks have to deal with the fallout when the teams meet in Week 3.
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