Everything Ryan Silverfield said from the podium at SEC Media Days

Arkansas head coach Ryan Silverfield took the podium on Day 4 of SEC Media Days to discuss his first year in the SEC and the current state of Arkansas football.

Here’s a full transcript of everything Silverfield had to say:

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RYAN SILVERFIELD: Thank you for being here. Before we get started, I think it’s important that I mention, with the recent passing of Jim Lindsey, 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.

With that being said, the last eight months have been a whirlwind. They’ve been a lot of fun. It’s been a lot of exciting times. Couldn’t be more pleased with the way it’s gone, the work that’s been put in.

Obviously a lot of unknowns heading into the 2026 football season with near 80 new players on our team, now an almost entirely new staff, but a lot of exciting work has been put in, and I 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.

Quincy Rhodes Jr. Quincy is a young man from North Little Rock that I actually had the opportunity to know really since his junior year of high school. In fact, at Memphis we are his first offer out of high school, so it was exciting when he decided at 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 head coach.

Then you have a young man, Caden Kitler. He took an official visit to Memphis out of high school, and so he’s another young man that I have 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.

Lastly, Sutton Smith. Sutton is 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. Ultimately, when the opportunity came for us both to be here, he decided it was in his best interest. Sutton is 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. The question is about the quarterback battle. I have 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. Thrilled with those two.

Everybody keeps saying, when will a decision be made? Listen, 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. 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.

Talking about our staff, all right, tried to put together what I believe is a great coaching staff and everybody that’s involved in our support staff. You look at it, let’s start with our offensive coordinator, Tim Cramsey. 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 become 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.

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.

A guy named Ron Roberts. Ron Roberts, a lot of you guys have known throughout this league, had a lot of success, has been around, has been an FCS head coach. I have a lot of faith in Ron. In fact, I actually interviewed him while I was at the University of Memphis when he was the D-coordinator at Louisiana Lafayette. Tried to bring him as a part of our staff and actually couldn’t afford his buyout. A couple of weeks later, he ended up at Baylor.

A lot of faith in what Ron is doing. He is running the defense, and he knows what 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.

Then, lastly, our special teams order coordinator, Chad Lunsford. Chad was most recently at Auburn, 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 with 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.

People say all the time, Ryan, what is the expectation in year one? What does success look like in your first season at Arkansas? This is not coach-speak. Truly we make improvements every single day. Can we be the best in the country at the controllables, everything that we go out there every single day?

For me, success has been set up from not only when we got there in December to the winter workouts in January on, to spring football, were we getting better? To the summer conditioning and OTAs, are we making improvements? Are we bigger, faster, and stronger? Those are the things that we can measure on a day-to-day. Are we handling ourselves academically, setting benchmarks and record for the highest GPA, the most community service hours? Those are things that we get to see progress in.

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 in between the white lines. When you watch us, are we playing more disciplined than the Razorbacks of the past 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. Thank you.

Q. We hear a lot at these events about coaches say, you know, “We’re going to do this the right way” and all this stuff. A lot of the same stuff. But I’m wondering what makes you different, what makes you unique from other coaches in how you approach?

RYAN SILVERFIELD: Yeah, what you see is what you get. To put it in unique terms, there’s not a lot of hogwash with me. I think that you don’t do this for 28 years at every level and BS a bunch of people.

I think just constantly pointing to the players, loving them, coaching them hard, holding everybody accountable and the whole deal.

I’ve learned a lot along the ways. I’ve coached Division III, coached in the NFL, been a head high school coach. Then obviously ten years at Memphis and had a decent amount of success there. Ultimately we’ll get to do it at Arkansas.

I think, more than anything, the only thing I can do is judge by the buy-in, the people that are involved in our football program. Not just the current roster and the players, but the recruits, the staff, all 200 people involved, right? Has the janitor bought into the way we’re going to do things? Has the linebacker grad assistant? Is the starting quarterback? Is everybody bought into the way of doing things?

If they are, then we give ourselves the opportunity to have success. So the thing I try every single day, I’m trying my best to hold everybody accountable to say, hey, this is what we’re going to accomplish, this is how we’re going to do it. And it starts with me.

I have to be my best every single day, and if I’m not, shame on me. We talk about the team taking steps in the right direction. As a head coach, how am I improving every single day? I think that’s one of the ways you sit there and you hold yourself accountable. How do you get better? 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 in the right direction.

Q. A few months ago your athletic director, Hunter Yurachek, talked about the Arkansas-Utah game and then the Arkansas-Georgia game. Quick turnaround. Even made the quote to say this type of scheduling is unacceptable and demonstrates clear neglect for the well-being of college athletes. What are your thoughts on that? Was there some efforts on your part with the SEC in trying to fix that problem, and was there response from the SEC on it?

RYAN SILVERFIELD: Listen, first, I appreciate Hunter’s backing our football program and having the support and saying, hey, sticking up for us in something that he felt was unfair. 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 asked us to play at 6:00 a.m. outside. Let’s go play in the Bay right now in 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. If there’s opportunities that make more sense for the well-being of our football team, so be it. I appreciate people that are sticking up for us and fighting the good fight.

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. We know a hell of a challenge we have when we face the Georgia Bulldogs in Fayetteville for the SEC opener.

Excited for the opportunities, whoever they ask us to play, wherever they ask us to play, and whatever time they ask us to play.

Q. Coming from a program where you have game planned against Arkansas and other SEC teams, what is something that you have seen in the Razorback program that you are wanting to change?

RYAN SILVERFIELD: Yeah, that’s a great question. Obviously I’ve coached against a lot of SEC teams in my ten years at Memphis, and we’re pretty fortunate to have some good success.

When I 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 is, man, we got to get this team playing more disciplined with better effort and then finding ways to take care of the football.

I think all Razorback fans alike will sit there and nod their head and say: Yeah, let’s get those things fixed and we’ll be pretty pleased.

Those are things I think we have the ability to do so immediately. 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.

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 hair was on fire, with great effort, with great discipline. I think when we do that, we’ll be taking steps in the right direction.

Q. In the other room you were talking about assessing what needed to be fixed. You also talked about Arkansas’s great history, McFadden and Broyles and all the names everybody knows. In between, though, have you had a chance to look and see what’s been going on at Arkansas for the last 12, 15 years where the Razorbacks used to be solid contenders and they really haven’t been most of the last 15 years?

RYAN SILVERFIELD: Yeah, that’s a great question. Obviously people ask what attracted me to the University of Arkansas and to this job. It was the rich history. You were 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 and the standards that Razorback fans want and that we should expect. So should the SEC.

You kind of do a deep dive. The first month on the job, man, you’re just putting your head down and working and you’re assembling a roster, and a staff. 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 has to offer. A great place like Fayetteville and a rabid fan base of fans that showed up at 92% capacity even after last year’s record. They’re prideful and they love it, and the great respect we have around the state and the people that love the Razorbacks.

I looked into it, and I said, What is this? I kind of — I’m not here to point the finger, but it’s a multitude of things that needed to get fixed. I think part of it is just understanding of alignment, okay? I’m so glad that we are so successful at other sports. Coach Cal called me last night and said, Hey, knock them dead today. You’ve got great relationships with all the other sports and those people, DVH. 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? You say a lot of it has to be the alignment, right, and 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?

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. How do we make this place a better place? 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 and said, we need to fix the light bulbs. I said I cannot believe that we had the players meeting in these dark rooms. 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.

People now are starting to catch wind, this is how we need to do this. We need to step up. We need to be better here. We need to support this more.

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.

Q. One of the themes I’ve picked up on here is the need to have powerful running games. A lot of the name schools didn’t run well. Arkansas ran well last year. But I’m wondering, what’s your take on your offensive line and your running back crew to be able to have a dominant running game?

RYAN SILVERFIELD: Yeah, first off, great question. 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 lanes.

Now, does that mean we’re going to be a team that runs the ball 50 times a game? Maybe not. But I 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.

I have confidence in this offensive line, especially what they can do in the run game. Obviously schematically we have to see what makes sense based off our personnel, based off our running backs.

Then I’ve got great faith in our running backs. I’d say this — we have a ton of depth in our running back room. Excited to see what each one of those guys can do. Sutton Smith is here. You know Braylen 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 box needs to look the way it does, can the receivers block on the perimeter, and can the tight ends handle their role? It’s my job to put us in a situation, when we hand that ball off, that a lot of the first contacts for that running back may occur from the second level, third level.

Q. You grew up in Jacksonville, and you played for the legendary Corky Rogers at Bolles High School, won multiple state championships. Can you talk a little bit about that time growing up in Northeast Florida playing for Coach Rogers and how you started your coaching journey there as well after you graduated and how that shaped you as the person you are today?

RYAN SILVERFIELD: Yeah, great question. 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 has ever accused me of being that. But he afforded us the opportunity to maximize our potential. He taught me the value of work, and I say no man taught me more than my father than Corky Rogers.

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. A true legend in the discipline that he instilled in us.

I still think about this today. Writing those morning workouts, running in the heat of Jacksonville, I have so much respect for him. To his credit, after it was declared that I probably wouldn’t play college football, that spring in my senior year of high school our defensive line coach wasn’t able to attend spring practice, so he said, Hey, why don’t you go coach the defensive line?

He didn’t have to do that. Obviously he probably could have picked up the phone and called anybody in the state of Florida. They would have been glad to immediately come coach even in a volunteer role. That’s kind of where I fell in love with the game of coaching and the opportunity to coach.

I’m standing here today. This is year 28 for me coaching. So much of that goes back to what I learned under Coach Rogers, the things he taught me as a young man that I have continued to instill and hopefully instill in our players today.

But I give him so much credit. Glad to see someone from St. Augustine here today. Thanks.

Q. Could you elaborate a little further on your decision to bring in Ron Roberts as defensive coordinator? You referenced interviewing him in the past. Obviously has experience in the conference. Just how important was it for you to get him on board?

RYAN SILVERFIELD: Yeah, it’s a great question. I think anybody that understands Ron Roberts and his defensive scheme, I mean, it goes way back even prior to his time at Baylor. Pete Golding, who was here last night, obviously was a Ron Roberts disciple. A lot of the defenses in this conference have formulated somehow from his background and the scheme that he actually created.

I’ve always had a lot of respect for him, even before I interviewed him when he was at Louisiana Lafayette. Then you come into the conference, and everybody says, Well, Ryan, you have never coached in the SEC, but I think it was important to surround myself with some guys that had. Obviously most recently the University of Florida. Obviously at Auburn before that. And he’s coached against SEC teams even prior to that at Baylor and throughout his career.

So much respect for what he does. He has a great understanding of the scheme and a presence about him. I thought it was important. I have a lot of faith that we’ll get this defense turned around.

Q. You are one of three American Conference coaches joining the league this year. What does your time as a head coach in the AAC teach you, and what is your relationship like with Coach Golesh and Coach Sumrall?

RYAN SILVERFIELD: Yeah, listen, six years in the American, ten years total. So much respect for that conference. 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 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 Power 4 teams and have success. So do a lot of the teams in that conference.

Coach Sumrall and Coach Golesh are two guys that I have known for quite a while that I have 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.

Q. Ryan, I just have a question for you. The Hogs have been at the bottom of predictions most preseason rankings. You’re at the bottom of most coach rankings. We know you’re about to take a break from social media too. You told us that. You have a 5-1 record against the coaches in this league, 5-1 record against Power 4 teams in general. What would you say to those who were doubting you and the Arkansas program going into the season?

RYAN SILVERFIELD: That’s great. Keep doubting me. What did you say my record was against the coaches in this conference?

Q. 5-1, Coach.

RYAN SILVERFIELD: Okay, thanks. Yeah, that’s great. 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. 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.

It doesn’t matter what other people think about me. It truly doesn’t. All I care is what the players and my family think about me. 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 back to where it needs to be.

I think a lot of the expectations are there are a lot of unknowns. Let’s call it what it is. As you in the media that have the right and certainly should have your opinion on things, it’s unknown who our quarterback is. There’s a lot of unknowns on our roster. With those unknowns come uncertainty. So it makes sense to pick us at a certain part.

I think a lot of people reflect on what happened last year and what’s happened in recent history. That has zero correlation to the success we’re going to have moving forward. 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 or this is what they think about us as a team.

None of that matters. We’re putting our head down and going to work every single day, and I can promise you our guys are.

To us, listen, we’ll look up in December and see where we’re at, and so be it. Hopefully we’re not at the back end and we continue to make steps in the right direction. That’s all par, and let people have their opinions and their thoughts.

Q. Your first road game at Arkansas in the SEC will be at Texas A&M. I’m interested what the fans have told you about that series. Some of those games were once at Jerry World. Are you a home and home guy, or do you like neutral sites? What about that as well, Coach?

RYAN SILVERFIELD: Listen, I understand the tradition of that game, and obviously — let me harp on that. Obviously had the opportunity to meet with Jerry Jones and Steven Jones last month. They were sharing some of the history of that game and obviously how it got going at Jerry’s World and down there in Dallas-Fort Worth area.

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 into. I think that’s what we’re going to face every Saturday on the road.

We’re going to be — have to be at our absolute best. We understand how good the 12th man is and the difference they make and the challenges that come with facing and playing at Texas A&M.

Those are other opportunities. It will 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.

Q. I just want to do get your thoughts on Danny Beale, a young freshman from the state of Arkansas, and how much he could do for you in that defensive line room?

RYAN SILVERFIELD: Yeah, Danny Beale is one of those young men that was a heralded recruit. Obviously was committed somewhere else. Within my 48 hours on the job, like a few of those other committed guys, we were able to flip him and keep him in state.

Danny has got a tremendous, tremendous upside. Obviously you got to see what he could do in high school, and then we got 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 an 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 him that opportunity, whether it’s this year or in the near future, to help. He’s done a tremendous, tremendous job, and I have high hopes for Danny Beale.

Q. Quincy Rhodes came back to school, decided not to go to the NFL Draft. He’s a heck of a player. How important was that for you and your staff to have him come back, and how much better do you think he can be this year?

RYAN SILVERFIELD: Yeah, you know, the Quincy Rhodes news was fantastic. As I mentioned earlier, he’s a guy that I’ve known since his junior year in high school. In fact, we pulled up an old photo of us when he got his offer, and I think he was 220 pounds at the time. Doesn’t even look the same.

Right when I got the job and met with the team and I go back into my office and start working, of course, QJ comes up to my office and just wants to talk. We’re just chopping it up, 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 would still be sitting here today. Then we keep talking. We have the dialogue 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.

What tremendous news that was for us. Obviously exciting, but we know 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 has already changed in the short time with our new strength and conditioning staff. We’re seeing him take steps in the right direction in a leadership role. We’re going to continue to push him.

I’m as hard on him as any player in our roster. 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 make the most of them every single day and holding him accountable, I think the rest of the roster looks around and says, okay, if he’s willing to do that, then let’s all push forward together.