Ryan Silverfield's early portal pickups suggest improvement on the back line in 2026, though that's a low bar to clear
It might seem exciting to read these words: Arkansas' 2026 secondary will be better than 2025. However, before you get too carried away absorbing that point, we have to bring this conversation down to a cooler temperature and not let the flames of passion distort reality.
Yes, Arkansas will have a better secondary than it had in 2025. As the Southwest Times-Record notes, Ryan Silverfield picked up one of the better cornerbacks in the transfer portal this past week:
"One of the best cornerbacks available in the transfer portal is joining Arkansas football. Tulane's Jahiem Johnson committed to Ryan Silverfield and the Razorbacks on Tuesday, Jan. 6. He represented the Hogs' fourth commitment of the day and their second addition to a secondary that struggled in 2025.
"247Sports ranks Johnson as the seventh-best transfer cornerback. He is the No. 115 overall player and Silverfield's highest-rated commit of the window.
"Johnson was a three-star recruit coming out of high school in 2023. The Louisiana native just wrapped up his redshirt sophomore season with the Green Wave, who reached the College Football Playoff and lost to Ole Miss in the first round. Johnson recorded 42 tackles, four interceptions and nine pass deflections in 2025."
Silverfield and his staff have added a lot of depth in the transfer portal, as they needed to, and the window is still not closed, with more portal activity to continue throughout this week. Arkansas has done a lot of portal shopping, and the early returns do suggest that the program is spending more money than it did under Sam Pittman. How much more is an interesting and still unresolved question, but the investment is larger, and that's a good start.
Perspective, though, is important, and while it's good to have optimism about developments which warrant it, the really big picture remains unclear for a simple reason: Arkansas was really bad late last season, including in the secondary. Saying the 2026 back line is better doesn't really change the reality of UA football.
What would be meaningful is if the 2026 secondary is better by a very large margin, and we're going to have to wait until next season to find out if that's true.
Arkansas was so bad in the secondary that it made Arch Manning of Texas look like a Heisman Trophy candidate. It was basically touch football or a 7-on-7 drill when the Longhorns' offense threw the ball against the Razorbacks. Yeah, the 2026 secondary will be better, but that's primarily because it's hard to set the bar any lower than the 2025 group did.
The real question for Arkansas in 2026 is not whether the team improves, but to what extent? A 3-9 record would be better than 2025, but it wouldn't generate a whole lot of optimism for the road ahead. 5-7, on the other hand, would show this operation really has a chance to gain traction.