ESPN names pair of Arkansas cornerbacks who could break out in 2026
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Not many are high on the Arkansas Razorbacks heading into Year 1 of the Ryan Silverfield era.
Take a look at most SEC rankings and you’ll probably find the Razorbacks last or next-to-last. It’s probably a fair preseason ranking — there’s just so much unknown about Silverfield’s squad, and the Razorbacks don’t exactly have a recent history of success to give them the benefit of the doubt. You can view this as good or bad news, but Arkansas added more transfers than any other team in the SEC this offseason, too.
According to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, at least two of these Arkansas transfers are worth keeping an eye on this fall. Both reside in the Razorbacks’ secondary: Maryland transfer La’khi Roland and Tulane transfer Joker Johnson.
Let’s start with Roland, a junior who starred for a bad Maryland team last season. Roland, standing 6-foot-2, 192 pounds, led the Terrapins with 3 interceptions last season. According to Silverfield, per ESPN, Roland has “a really high ceiling.” It helps that Roland has experience against Power 4 competition, too.
Then there’s Johnson, who led the Tulane Green Wave in interceptions (4) and pass deflections (9) with 32 solo tackles and 1 forced fumble in 2025. One of those interceptions helped Tulane seal their AAC championship victory over Drew Mestemaker and North Texas, advancing Jon Sumrall’s Green Wave to the College Football Playoff.
Arkansas is set to kick off its 2026 campaign on Sept. 5 against North Alabama.
Ethan Stone is a Saturday Down South News Editor and an advocate for the return of the Seattle Supersonics.
