Journey at highest level begins with Arkansas Razorbacks for former Memphis Tigers coach
TAMPA BAY — Mark it in the history books. Thursday, July 23 at 10:30 a.m. following extensive talk about LSU coach Lane Kiffin over at the SEC Network desk, Arkansas football coach Ryan Silverfield took to the podium, sucked in a quick breath and uttered his first words at an official SEC function, formally labeling him as an SEC coach.
Here’s what he had to say in his opening statements and in response to the questions that followed.
Acknowledging Razorback Legend Jim Lindsey
“Before we get started, I think it’s important that I mention, with the recent passing of Jim Lindsay, that our thoughts and prayers are with his family and his friends at this time. Certainly, a Razorback legend and an icon throughout the entire state of Arkansas. So we’re thinking about him and his family at this time.”
Nearly Everybody is New
“Obviously, a lot of unknowns heading into the 2026 football season, with near 80 new players on our deal, not almost an entirely new staff, but a lot of excitement, a lot of work has been put in, and can’t wait to talk about our Razorback team today. That being said, as you guys have had the opportunity to meet with so many of our players, we have three of our players here today, and I want to briefly touch on them.
“Okay, Quincy [Rhodes Jr.] is a young man from North Little Rock that I actually had the opportunity to know really since his junior of high school. In fact, at Memphis, we were his first offer out of high school, so it was exciting when he decided our press conference to come back and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to be a part of this thing moving forward and finish up my last year with you as the head coach.’
“Then you have a young man, Caden Kittler. Caden actually took an official visit to Memphis out of high school, and so he’s another young man that I’ve known now for six years. When I got the head job, we Facetimed with his parents, and they decided that they were going to continue to be a part of the Razorback family as well. And then, lastly, Sutton Smith. Sutton’s a young man that committed to us as a junior in high school at Memphis, and throughout his career there, many SEC schools actually calling him, trying to get him to transfer. And he said, ‘You know what? I’m going to stay loyal to Memphis and loyal to Coach Silverfield.’
“And ultimately, when the opportunity came for us both to be here, he decided in his best interest. And Sutton’s a guy that I’m excited for the rest of the country and the rest of the SEC to see what he’s all about. I know we’re going to talk about the rest of the roster here in a little bit.
Quarterback Battle
Obviously, the question is about the quarterback battle. Great faith in the two guys that are competing for that starting job as it sits today, KJ Jackson and AJ Hill. Both are very, very intelligent. Both are very hardworking. Both have the skill set in order to lead us to a bunch of SEC wins and compete at the highest level. So thrilled with those two. Everybody keeps saying when will a decision be made? Unless they’re going to continue to battle through OTAs and summer access, and then through training camp, and then we’ll look up later at the end of August and see where it sits. But very pleased with the way each one of those guys is progressing, and looking forward to seeing how they continue to try to lead our offense.”
Who Are His Right-Hand Men?
“Trying to put together what I believe is a great coaching staff and everybody that’s involved in our support staff. You look at it, and let’s start with our offense coordinator, Tim Cramsy. Tim has been with us the last four years at Memphis and stayed loyal. In fact, as SEC schools called him and tried to get him to come be a coordinator in the SEC, he stayed put and said, ‘I’m going to stay loyal to you and to the school.’ And then ultimately, when this job came open, he said, ‘Let’s do this. And he’s had a lot of success, a lot of Top 25 offenses throughout his career. If you look at what we did on offense at Memphis, we have no doubt that same success can be reciprocated at the University of Arkansas. Guy named Ron Roberts, right? Ron Roberts, a lot of you guys have known throughout this league, had a lot of success.
“Has been an FCS head coach. Have a lot of faith in Ron. In fact, I actually interviewed him while I was at the University of Memphis when he was a defensive coordinator at Louisiana Lafayette tried to bring him a part of our staff, and actually couldn’t afford his buy-out. A couple weeks later, he ended up at Baylor, but a lot of faith in what Ron’s doing. He’s running the defense, and he knows when it’s done. He’s looked at a lot of these offenses throughout the SEC throughout the years, and excited to see what we’re going to do on the defensive side of the ball. And then lastly, our special teams coordinator, Chad Munsford, and Chad was most recently at Auburn, and he’s a guy and he’s a guy that’s been a Division I head coach, obviously at Georgia Southern, and had success as a special teams coordinator throughout his career. So excited to have those three coordinators, and feel very, very confident about the rest of our coaching staff. We feel like we’ve assembled a great group of guys, a unique mix that ultimately are going to pour into our players and give us the best opportunity to have success.
What Hogs Fans Should Expect to See as Success
“This is not coach speak. Truly, can we make improvements every single day, right? Can we be the best in the country at the controllables? Everything that we go out there every single day, and for me, success has been set up from not only we got there in December to the winter workouts in January on, to spring football where we getting better, to the summer conditioning and OTAs, are we making improvements? Are we bigger, faster, and stronger? And those are the things that we can measure on a day to day. Are we handling ourselves academically, setting benchmarks and records for the highest GPA, the most community service hours-those are things that we get to see progress in. But ultimately, we’re going to be judged by our wins and losses. We understand that. We want to see our guys go out there and play harder than they have ever before. We can judge by the effort we’re playing with them between the white lines, and you watch us when we playing more discipline than the Razorbacks have passed have played? Are we taking care of the football? Are we winning those close games? Are we finding ways to play better at home? Couldn’t be more thrilled for what’s exciting and ahead of us for the 2026 football season and beyond. Look forward to seeing so many of our great fans at Razorback Stadium throughout this fall. They’ve been wonderful so far, and can’t wait to make them proud.”
Reporter Q&A
What makes Silverfield different from all of the other new coaches running around talking about doing the right things?
“What you see is what you get. There’s to put it in unique terms. There’s not a lot of hogwash with me, okay. And I think that you know you don’t do this for 28 years at every level, and BS a bunch of people. I think just constantly pouring into the players, loving them, coaching them hard, holding everybody accountable on the the whole deal. But I’ve learned a lot along the ways, right? Coached Division III, coached in the NFL. You know, coach been a head high school coach, and then obviously 10 years at Memphis, and had a decent amount of success there. And ultimately, what we’re going to do at Arkansas. But I think more than anything, you know, the only thing I can do is judge by the buy-in by the people that are involved in our football program. You know, not just the current roster and the players, but the recruits, the staff, all 200 people involved, right? Is the janitor bought into the way we’re going to do things? Is the the linebacker grad assistant, right? Is the starting quarterback? Is everybody bought into the way of doing things? And if they are, then we give ourselves the opportunity to have success. And so the thing that every single day, I’m trying my best to hold everybody accountable. Say, hey, this is what we’re going to accomplish. This is how we’re going to do it, and it starts with me, so I have to be my best every single day. And if I’m not, shame on me. But I’m working for improvement. We talked about a team taking steps in the right direction. But as a head coach, how am I improving every single day? And I think that’s one of the ways you sit there and you hold yourself accountable. How do you get better? And then you know, regardless of what other coaches say, it’s my job. I got to worry about my own front porch, and every single day we’re pulling the right direction.”
Thoughts on the Utah game being played so late with the Georgia game being an 11 a.m. start right behind it and the effort Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek put into trying to do something about it.
I appreciate Hunter’s backyard football program and having the support and saying, “Hey, sticking up for us in something that he felt was unfair. And so I’m appreciative of that, regardless of what the issue is, whether it’s scheduling, timing, all those things. We also understand what it is, right? As Commissioner had spoken on earlier in the week, that a lot of it has to do with the scheduling conflicts, a lot has to do with television. We understand that. I’m not up here to sit here and complain about anything. Let’s go out there and give us the best fight. They ask us to play at 6 a.m. You know, outside. Let’s go play in the Bay right now, Tampa, whatever the heck that looks like. If it’s midnight, so be it. Obviously, my number one thing is always the well-being of our student athletes, no matter what that looks like. So, if there’s opportunities that make more sense for the well-being of our football team, so be it. And I appreciate people that are sticking up for us and fighting the good fight. But whatever time they ask us to play, obviously we got a heck of a challenge going to Utah, and we know the atmosphere there playing at night, and we know the hell of a challenge we have when we face the Georgia Bulldogs in Fayetteville for the SEC opener, but excited for the opportunities. Whoever they ask us to play, wherever they ask us to play, and whatever time they ask us to play.
What did Silverfield see while game planning against Arkansas that he knew needed to be changed right away?
Obviously, have coached against a lot of SEC teams in our 10 years at Memphis, and we’re pretty fortunate to have some good success. You know, when put on that Arkansas film, and again, this is no knock on what occurred before we got there. But the number one thing I said, I said, “Man, we got to get this team playing more disciplined with better effort, and then finding ways to take care of the football. And I think all Razorback fans and like will sit there and nod their head, say, “Yeah, let’s get those things fixed, and we’ll be pretty pleased. And those are things I think that we have the ability to do so immediately. And you know, you watch the guys. There was a lot of guys that had talent on the rosters previously. A lot of guys that played really hard, but it’s my job and our job collectively to bring that together. And so hopefully, you know, this time next year we’re talking about man, it was a different looking team. The way they went out week in and week out and played like their hammers on fire with great effort, with great discipline, and and I think if they do that, we’ll be taking steps in the right direction.
What has held the Razorbacks from achieving greatness consistently over the past 15 years?
people ask what attracted me to the University of Arkansas and to this job. It was the rich history, and you’re exactly right. You look over what’s occurred the last 15 years, and obviously there’s been some good years, but not to the expectation the standards that Razorback fans want, and that we should suspect, and so should the SEC. And you you kind of do a deep dive the the first month on the job, and you’re just putting your head down, you’re working, you’re assembling a roster, a staff, and then really over the next few months, I did. I said, “Why has it been this way? Because I look at the opportunity and possible resources that the university has, right? That Northwest Arkansas also offer a great place like Fayetteville, and so and a rabid fan base of fans that showed up at 90-2% capacity, even after last year’s record and they’re prideful and they love it, and the great respect we have around the state, and the people that love the Razorbacks. And so I looked into it. I said, “What is this? And I kind of I’m not here to point the finger, but it’s a multitude of things that need to get fixed. And I think part of it is just understanding and of alignment. Okay, I’m so glad that we are so successful at other sports. Coach Cal Cabinet called me last night and said, “Hey, knock them dead today. You know, you’ve got great relationships with all the other sports and those people. DVH, all the all the other sports are having success. All the track, track and field championships, those things are great. But why has football not had the recent success? And you go sit there and say, a lot of it’s got to be the alignment, right? And where are we doing? What are we doing? And what’s it look like, right? Are we fundraising the right way? Are we fundraising enough? Are we building it? Are we recruiting in state well enough? Are we developing players? Does it make sense with the way we’re scheduling things from an academic standpoint? Are we truly doing the right things in nutrition? So I’ve looked at every single thing that has to do with our football program, and some as much as even lighting on game day. Right? How do we make this place a better place? And and I think I’ve got quite a few of the answers. Now it’s my job, our job to implement those and start to make those changes. From the very day I got there that night, people joke around that I came in. I said we need to fix light bulbs. I said I cannot believe that we had the players meeting in these dark rooms. And something as small as that may seem like such a small thing, but I believe in how you do anything is how you do everything, and so people now are starting to catch one. Okay, this is how we need to do this. We need to step up. We need to do be here better here. We need to support this more, and so listen. Every single day, we’re making changes in the right direction, so that I hope when people talk 15 years from now, they’re talking about the most recent 15 years being very similar to the rich history and tradition that we all know and love.
How does he plan to keep the Hogs’ running game as strong as it has been?
I always believe as an offense, it starts with being able to run the football. Because if you can run the football, it gives you the opportunities to take shots downfield and open up other passing lines. Now, does that mean we’re going to be a team that runs the ball 50 times a game? Maybe not, but have great faith in our offensive line. I believe sitting here today, we have seven or eight offensive linemen that can play at a high level in the SEC. It’s our job to continue to develop the rest of that group and get them along. But I’ve got confidence in this offensive line, especially what they can do in the run game. Obviously, schematically, we got to see what makes sense based off our personnel, based off our running backs, and then I’ve got great faith in our running backs. I’d say this: we have a ton, a ton of depth in our running back room. Excited to see what each one of those guys can do, obviously Sutton Smith’s here. You know, you guys know Braylon Russell, Cam Settles. There’s a slew of other guys that are stepping up that we have high expectations for. So I’m pleased with that combination. It should allow us the opportunity to run the ball, but running the football also makes the quarterback putting us in the right decision when the boxes needs to look what it does. Can the receivers block from the perimeter, and can the tight ends handle their role? It’s my job to put us in a situation where we hand that ball off, and a lot of the first contact for that running back may occur from the second level, third level.
What did Silverfield learn from odd chance to get to coach at his own high school while still enrolled?
You can see the giant smile you put on my face. For those that he mentioned, he mentioned the legend Corky Rogers, who at one time was the all-time winningest coach in the state of Florida and one of the top in the country. But the one thing I learned from him, if you look at me, I’m certainly not the biggest or the most athletic. No one’s ever accused me of being that. But he afforded us the opportunity to maximize our potential. Now he taught me the value of work, and I say no man taught me more than my father than Corky Rogers and Coach Rogers is just a true legend because he always held us accountable. Going back to that word, he meant so much not only to the people at the school but to the entire Northeast Florida community and obviously throughout the state. True legend, and you know the discipline that he instilled in us. I still think about this today, right? Those morning workouts running in the heat of Jacksonville, and I have so much respect for him. And you know, to his credit, after it was declared that I probably wouldn’t play college football that spring of my senior of high school, our defensive line coach wasn’t able to attend spring practices. So he said, “Hey, why don’t you go coach the defense line? And he didn’t have to do that. Obviously, he probably could have picked up the phone and called anybody in the state of Florida, and they would have been glad to immediately come coach, even a volunteer role. And that’s kind of where I fell in love with the game of coaching and the opportunity to coach. And so, you know, I’m saying here today, this is year 28 for me as coaching, and so much of that goes back to what I learned under Coach Rogers, the things he taught me as a young man that I’ve continued to instill and hopefully instill in our players today. But I give him so much credit.
Silverfield asked to elaborate on why he chose to bring defensive coordinator Ron Roberts onto his staff?
I think you know anybody that understands Ron Roberts and his defensive scheme. I mean, it goes way back, even prior to his time at Baylor. You know, Pete Golding, who was here last night. You know, obviously was a Ron Roberts disciple. A lot of the defenses in this conference have formulated somehow from his background in the scheme that he actually created. So I’ve always had a lot of respect for him, even before I interviewed him when he was at Louisiana Lafayette. And then you know you come into the conference. I said, “Well, Ryan, you you’ve never coached in the SEC, but I think it was important to surround myself with some guys that had. And obviously, you know, most recently at the University of Florida, obviously had Auburn before that, and you know he’s coached against SEC teams even prior to that at Baylor and throughout his career. So, so much respect for what he does. He has a great understanding of the scheme and a presence about him, so I thought it was important. Have a lot of faith, and we’ll get this defense turned around.
What did Silverfield learn as a coach in the AAC and what is his relationship like with Jon Sumrall and Alex Golesh?
Listen, six years in the American, 10 years total. So much respect for that conference, and then obviously a lot of respect for the two coaches you mentioned. But I think you look at the group of five, group of six, whatever it’s now called as we sit here today, I have so much belief that the American Conference is truly at the top of that level. In fact, you know, during our time at Memphis, obviously we had fortune to play, as I mentioned earlier, against some of the SEC schools and other you know Power Four teams that have success, and so do a lot of the teams in that conference. Coach Summerall and Coach Golish are two guys I’ve known for quite a while that I’ve got a lot of respect for. Obviously, they’ve got their challenges and opportunities ahead for them, but they’re two good ones, and I’m sure they’re working hard to get their programs back where everybody expects as well.
What does a 5-1 record against coaches currently in the SEC say about Silverfield’s ability to have success?
That’s great. Keep doubting me. What’d you say my record was against the coaches of this conference? Five and one, coach. Okay, thanks. Yeah, that’s great. I’m not. I won’t throw the podium at you, so I appreciate that. Listen, people have the right to feel a certain way, and that’s okay. I’ve been doubted my whole life, you know, and and that’s that’s not that’s not a bad thing. I think what ends up happening is you have a head coach that has a chip on his shoulder. Doesn’t matter what other people think about me. It truly doesn’t. All I care is what the players in my family think about me, and and anybody that’s been around our program, anybody that’s been around me knows that we’re going to do it the right way. In due time, we’ll get this thing back to where it needs to be. I think a lot of the expectations are there’s some lot of unknowns. Let’s call it what is as you guys in the media that have the right and certainly should have your opinion on things. Right? It’s unknown who our quarterback is. There’s a lot of unknowns on our roster, and that’s and with those unknowns come uncertainty, and so it makes sense to to pick us at a certain part. And obviously, I think a lot of people reflect on what happened last year and what’s happened in recent history, and that has zero correlation to the success we’re going to have moving forward. And to me, we don’t look at it. I don’t use it as motivation. I don’t put it on bulletin board material. Hey, this is what they think about me, and this is what they think about us as a team. None of that matters, and we put our head down. We go to work every single day, and I can promise you, our guys are. And so, to us, we’ll look up in December and see where we’re at, and and and I’m so be it. And hopefully, obviously, we’re we’re not at the back end. We continue to make steps in the right direction. That’s all par and let people have their their opinions and their their thoughts.
Thoughts on where to play the Texas A&M game?
I understand the the tradition of that game, and obviously, let me let me help on that. Obviously, had the opportunity to meet with Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones last month, and you know they were sharing some of history of that game, and obviously how it got going at Georgetown down there in Dallas-Fort Worth area. But ultimately, whatever is decided, I think as many true home games as we can play, the better. Obviously, if Jerry Jones calls up and says, ‘Hey, let’s play this thing, we’ll find a way. We’ll figure it out.’
“But so much respect for what Coach Elko and they’ve done at Texas A&M, and I understand the type of crowd we’ll be walking to, and I think that’s what we’re going to face every Saturday on the road. And so we’re going to be have to be our absolute best. We understand how good the 12th man is and the difference they make, and the challenges that come with facing playing at Texas A&M. And so those are another opportunities. It’ll be a great challenge, but a wonderful chance for us to go on the road for our first SEC game and see what we’re all about.”
How might freshman defensive lineman Danny Beale affect this season?
Yeah, Danny Beale is one of those young men that was a herald to the group. Obviously, was committed somewhere else within my first 48 hours on the job. Like a few of those other committed guys, we’re able to flip them and keep them at stake. And Danny’s got a tremendous, tremendous upside. Obviously, you got to see what he can do in high school, and then we get to see some of those early flashes with him being an early enrollee in the spring, and then now what he’s doing this summer.
“He’s transformed his body. He’s learned how to work at the SEC level and play. It’s very very hard for freshmen to play on the defensive line in this conference, but I do have great faith in Danny. Maybe giving that opportunity, whether it’s this year or in the near future to help, he’s done a tremendous, tremendous job, and I’ve got high hopes for Danny Beale.”
What impact can Quincy Rhodes, Jr. have as returnee and how can Arkansas make him better prepared for the NFL?
“The Quincy Rhodes news was fantastic. As I mentioned earlier, he’s a guy that I’ve known since his junior in high school. In fact, we pulled up an old photo of us when, you know, he got his offer. I think he was 220 pounds at the time. Doesn’t even look the same. And you know, right when I got the job, I met with the team, and I both go back to my office and start working. Of course, QJ comes up in my office and just wants to talk, and we’re just chopping up, you know, talking and discussing things. We get on a phone call with his dad, and Quincy said, ‘Man, if you hadn’t got this job, I’m not sure I’d still be sitting here today.’
“Then we keep talking. We have the dialog over the next two days, and then the press conference comes, and he’s in the press conference, and he stands up and says, ‘Man, I’m all about it. I’m staying here, and what tremendous news that was for us! Obviously exciting, but we know what the type of player he is. But he’s still scratching the surface. That’s one thing about Quincy that I love is he knows that he has more upside. So we’re continuing to push him. His body’s already changed in the short time with our new strength and conditioning staff.
“We’re seeing him take steps in the right direction on a leadership role, but we’re going to continue to push him. I’m as hard on him as any player in our roster, and I think one of those guys that’s a veteran, one of those guys that people look up to, certainly has the talent level. When they see the head coach hard on him and making sure you move to every single day and holding him accountable, I think the rest of the roster will try and say, okay, if he’s willing to do that, then let’s all push forward together.”
