Ryan Silverfield has good things to say about his Arkansas football team.
As spring rolls on and the Arkansas Razorbacks settle in with first-year head coach Ryan Silverfield, the new coach has been pleasantly surprised by how his team has responded to his coaching. It has not been one side of the ball or only one aspect of the team receiving praise; it’s been the entire group. Arkansas held its first full spring practice scrimmage under its new head coach, and the results were encouraging. Not only has Silverfield seemingly convinced his team to buy in, but the Hogs may be ahead of schedule. Let’s explore what has Silverfield so excited after their first scrimmage.
“When it all was said and done, we went about 95 plays out there cycling between the ones and twos, the threes, the fours, whatever we could, and I was just pleased,” Silverfield stated. “I was pleased with their attitude, effort, and the way they went and attacked this thing. I liked the direction we’re heading in; we just have to continue to make progress every single week.”
Silverfield stated that his staff rotated the quarterbacks to give each of them a chance with the first and second teams. The plan is that each quarterback will lead his respective team in the upcoming Spring Game in late April. That game, along with spring practice and fall practice, will eventually determine the Razorbacks’ starting quarterback in 2026. Right now, both KJ Jackson and AJ Hill are still competing, and they probably won’t settle the debate anytime soon. Silverfield wants to give each quarterback as much of a chance as he can to assert himself and take over as the starter. This battle was always likely to be settled in the fall rather than spring.
One thing that stood out during Silverfield’s post-scrimmage press conference was how specific he was with what impressed him, and how that knowledge can assist the team in any given situation. Many coaches don’t like to get into the weeds of closed practices, but Silverfield understands you don’t get that luxury as a first-year coach at an SEC school. You’re being paid a lot of money to win football games, and people want to know how you’re going to go about doing that, often in detail. Silverfield doesn’t shy away from specific questions or sharing his thoughts on what he saw, even if the practice was closed to the media.