SPORTS
By Robby Edwards | Photos courtesy of Razorback Communications
Silverfield Rebuilding Razorback Depth Chart, Roster in Year One as Football Coach
Defensively, the Tigers allowed 22.5 points per game last year, the best of Silverfield’s tenure and third-best in the American Athletic Conference. That unit ranked third in the AAC allowing 361.1 yards per game, a number that improved dramatically the last two seasons. The team’s 19 forced turnovers ranked No. 13 in the FBS in turnover margin at plus-9.
Silverfield’s 2024 team went 11-2 and won the Frisco Bowl over West Virginia, giving Memphis back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in history.
The story is different for the Razorbacks. The Hogs went 2-10 in 2025, losing their last 10 games. Former head coach Sam Pittman was fired five games into the season. The Hogs were 7-6 in 2024 with a Liberty Bowl win over Texas Tech, 4-8 in 2023 and 7-6 with a Liberty Bowl win over Kansas in 2022.
There’s no silver platter for Ryan Silverfield entering his first season as head coach of the Arkansas Razorback football program.
Silverfield moved to Fayetteville after going 50-25 in six seasons at the University of Memphis, including two 10-win seasons and bowl eligibility every year. His tally of 29 victories over the last three years ranks among the top 15 nationally.
His teams are known for explosive offenses, and the 2025 Tigers finished the regular season No. 19 in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 34.6 points per game, marking the fourth consecutive season Memphis ranked in the Top 25. All six of Silverfield’s Memphis teams averaged 30-plus points per game, and Memphis is one of just five schools to rank in the Top 20 each of the past three years, joining Notre Dame, Oregon, Ole Miss and Texas State.
Ryan Silverfield led Memphis to back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in program history with an 11-2 record in 2024 following a 10-2 mark in 2023
Quarterback KJ Jackson made his first career start in last year’s season finale against Missouri, completing 11 of 17 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown
Now, Silverfield is the new coach with a new staff and, after a busy offseason, a mostly new roster.
Of the 58 players listed on the offensive and defensive depth chart heading into last year’s finale against Missouri, only 13 Razorbacks return, including just four starters. Ten are back on the offensive side, including three starters, and three are back on defense, including one starter.
The returnees on offense are offensive linemen Caden Kitler and Kobe Branham, receiver CJ Brown and quarterback KJ Jackson.
Up front, Kitler, a 6-3, 300-pound senior, started 11 games at center after transferring from Central Florida. Branham, a 6-5, 332-pound redshirt sophomore from Fort Smith, started 11 of 12 games at right guard after earning starts late in his first season.
Ordinarily, two returning starters on the offensive line would be a positive for a mostly new offensive unit, but heading into summer, Silverfield said everything was still open.
“We have eight guys we feel really comfortable with, and there are going to be battles through training camp,” he said. “Even the returning starters, they are not promised anything. They will have to work their tails off to maintain their jobs. That’s a spot we can get better at, and we have some guys who are battling and are right on the heels of those guys that are going to come out and compete.”
Returning and transfer linemen include sophomore Adam Hawkes from Oregon State, senior Bryant Williams from Louisiana-Lafayette, junior Malachi Breland from Memphis, junior Terence Roberson Jr. from Ouachita Baptist and returning sophomore Kavion Broussard from Ole Miss.
Hawkes played in six games with two starts last year, Williams started 11 games without allowing a sack, Breland started all 12 games at left guard for Silverfield at Memphis, Roberson was a starter at right tackle and Broussard played in six games with one start.
Brown is the unquestioned leader among returning receivers. The junior from Bentonville played in all 12 games last year and broke into the starting lineup, starting the last six games. He finished tied for third on the club with 28 receptions for 319 yards and three touchdowns.
New receivers include senior Chris Marshall from Boise State, senior Donovan Faupel from New Mexico State and senior Jamari Hawkins from Memphis.
Center Caden Kitler started all 11 games in 2025 after transferring from Central Florida
Running back Braylen Russell has three career starts but has played in 19 games and gained 640 yards with eight touchdowns on 122 carries
Receiver CJ Brown, from Bentonville, has 31 career receptions for 352 yards and three touchdowns
Last year, Marshall played in 11 games with five starts and had 30 receptions for 574 yards and two touchdowns; Faupel earned second-team All-Conference USA honors with 61 receptions for 661 yards and seven scores; and Hawkins was second on the team at Memphis with 38 catches for 623 yards, including two touchdowns.
Jackson, a 6-4 sophomore, is the expected starter at quarterback, but there’s competition with Memphis transfer AJ Hill, a 6-4 redshirt freshman.
“The spring was a lot of fun,” Jackson said. “Growing in the new offense, understanding what (offensive coordinator Tim) Cramsey and coach Silverfield want us to do, we were really situational. As a team, we learned a lot about football.”
Jackson played in five games last year with one start, completing 33 of 54 passes for 441 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also ran 11 times for 52 yards and two touchdowns.
As a freshman at Memphis, Hill played in two games, hitting 19 of 32 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown with one interception. He threw for 175 yards against Alabama-Birmingham, and was six-of-seven for 48 yards in the Gasparilla Bowl against North Carolina State.
“The fact there is no major separation indicates we have two guys who are really good, two guys we trust and who are capable of being a starting quarterback in the Southeastern Conference,” Silverfield said. “We gave each one some things we want to see improvement on, and ultimately if those things occur, hopefully one steps up and plays at a higher level. But I think we have two capable guys, and that’s the good news.”
At tight end, junior Jaden Platt is back after catching 21 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns in 2025. Other options are senior Memphis transfer Matt Adcock (12 catches, 70 yards, three touchdowns); returning junior Maddox Lassiter, who played in all 12 games last year; and junior Boston College transfer Ty Lockwood.
Though not a starter, junior Braylen Russell is a 6-1, 235-pound returnee at running back. He played in nine games with 55 carries for 291 yards and five touchdowns. Cam Settles, a sophomore from Little Rock, played nine games a year ago and had 16 yards on six carries.
Sutton Smith is a senior transfer from Memphis, where he ran for 669 yards and seven touchdowns on 102 carries, and added 20 receptions for 109 yards. Sophomore Jasper Parker played six games as a true freshman at Michigan last year, gaining 93 yards and scoring twice on 25 carries.
Defensively, returnees are starting end Quincy Rhodes Jr., end Charlie Collins and linebacker Bradley Shaw.
“They really came into their own,” Silverfield said about that unit. “It’s obviously a new system for everybody, but we saw them get a better understanding of the scheme and then be able to play faster and freer. We got to see some depth, too, not only on the defensive line but in the secondary as well. I was pleased with their growth. I think they will continue to get better.”
Rhodes is the anchor. A second-team All-SEC selection, he had 44 tackles with 15.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks and six quarterback hurries. Collins, who started three times, had nine tackles, and Shaw, who played in all 12 games with seven starts, had 50 tackles with five for loss and two sacks.
The entire secondary is new. Newcomers include junior Shelton Lewis from Clemson, sophomore Braydon Lee from Maryland, junior La’khi Roland from Maryland, junior Khmori House from North Carolina, senior Christian Harrison from Cincinnati, junior Jahiem “Joker” Johnson from Tulane and senior Carter Stoutmire from Colorado.
Roland had 21 tackles and a team-high three interceptions in 11 games, House led UNC with 81 tackles and was a team captain, Harrison started all 12 games at safety and had 66 tackles with seven pass breakups, and Johnson started all 14 games and played a team-high 834 plays with 42 tackles and four interceptions.
Other key additions may be linemen Hunter Osborne from Virginia and Steven Soles Jr. from Kentucky, end Jamonta Waller from Auburn, and linebackers Ja’Quavion Smith from Howard and Ben Bogle from West Virginia.
Osborne, 6-4, 301, had 15 tackles in 14 games; Soles had 11 tackles and a team-high tying 3.5 sacks; Smith made 49 tackles with 11 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 12 games; and Bogle had 37 tackles with three sacks in 12 games.
“We knew Quincy, and it’s great he’s returning, but other than that, it’s a bunch of young guys,” Silverfield said. “We had to see what we have, so ultimately, how many pieces do we have with guys who can go out there and compete, and we feel like on defense right now we have probably 28 guys that can play and rotate. Now, to what extent and what level, does that mean starting SEC-caliber players that can win games for you? I’m not sure. That’s still to be determined, but we do like the depth we have.”
Guard Kobe Branham joins center Caden Kitler as one of two returning starters on the offensive line
