Arkansas has not yet joined the growing trend of college football programs hiring a general manager.
With player mobility at an all-time high because of the transfer portal and paying players now above board because of NIL, it’s a position many coaches have filled to help with the negotiation aspect that is becoming more and more common in the sport.
When he met with reporters last month, though, head coach Sam Pittman said he wasn’t in a rush to find a GM for the Razorbacks.
“I think we’re in pretty good shape,” Pittman said. “We know exactly how much money that we’ve spent. We know exactly how much money we have left in the portal.”
Since then, Arkansas has signed 19 transfers — a group that currently checks in at No. 7 and No. 14 nationally on Rivals and 247Sports, respectively.
Pittman and his staff have done an admirable job restocking a roster that saw numerous starters either leave via the portal or exhaust their eligibility, but he acknowledged the potential need for a GM in the near future. It’s even more key with revenue sharing entering the mix this summer and the ballooning number of players in the portal each year.
Making such a hire is something he’s already discussed with athletics director Hunter Yurachek. They’ve established criteria for the position, but have opted to hold off on pursuing one until April, if they go after one at all.
That decision — whether or not to hire a GM — is clearly the biggest question facing the Arkansas football program in that space, but it does present an obvious follow-up: Who should it hire?
Possible Candidate for Arkansas Football GM
Unlike head coaches, coordinators and even position coaches, all of which quickly generate “hot boards” with replacements when a job comes open, potential college GMs are harder to speculate.
For starters, there are no precedents. A lot of possible candidates aren’t in high-visibility positions and could be in different professions entirely.
One such person Best of Arkansas Sports believes may be worth the Razorbacks considering is a name fans will recognize: Rawleigh Williams III.
The former standout running back, whose playing career was cut short by a neck injury, is just 28 years old, but already in charge of a successful sports agency firm, Milk & Honey Sports, based in Dallas.
We aren’t the only ones seeing him as a viable option, either. Pig Trail Nation’s Courtney Mims threw out his name in an episode of Ask Mike earlier this week.
Williams himself also told BoAS that he’d potentially be interested in the job.
“It definitely is an interesting thing to think about just in terms of obviously still being a fan of the school and rooting for Arkansas to do well and then having a background on this side of the sports business,” Williams said. “Who knows what the future holds in something like that.”
Examining the Credentials of Rawleigh Williams III
Now entering his seventh year as a sports agent, this wasn’t always the path Rawleigh Williams III envisioned for himself at this age.
A high three-star recruit coming out of Bishop Lynch High School, he had NFL aspirations upon arriving in Fayetteville to play running back for the Razorbacks. Things were trending that way when he bounced back from a serious neck injury to lead the SEC in rushing during the 2016 regular season.
Unfortunately, another injury setback the following spring derailed those dreams, so he pivoted to another route to the NFL. While finishing up his degree at the UA, Williams worked in the marketing department of the Dallas Cowboys – owned by Arkansas grad Jerry Jones – and had dreams of working his way up the front office ranks to one day become a GM.
Those plans changed when he attended the 2018 NFL Draft to network and met Jake Presser, who was representing Courtland Sutton in the pre-draft process and later became Williams’ business partner. They eventually co-founded the sports division of music agency Milk & Honey in 2021.
Originally focused solely on representing NFL players, they’ve since launched a baseball division in December of 2022 and acquired VMG Sports last March. The latter of those brought on Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce as a client.
Williams said his company has expanded into the NIL space at the college level in the past year, as well. Included among their clients is new Arkansas wide receiver Courtney Crutchfield.
The Need for Arkansas Football
General managers are becoming increasingly common at the FBS level.
Stanford drew national headlines for its hire of former quarterback Andrew Luck in late November. Among the hires announced by new Purdue head coach – and former Arkansas defensive coordinator – Barry Odom is a GM, as he tabbed former Missouri player Brandon Lee to the position this week.
According to research by Best of Arkansas Sports in December, at least 11 of the other 15 SEC football programs have a GM in place.
While Sam Pittman seems to still be undecided about whether or not Arkansas needs one, Rawleigh Williams III is of the belief it’s necessary.
“With so much movement on a college football team right now, it’s really the wild, wild west in terms of it being one-year contracts basically that you’re doing,” Williams said, speaking broadly on the need of GMs in college football. “Having somebody whose main job is making sure that the roster stays what it needs to be…I think it’s necessary when you have a head coach just trying to win football games.
“It’s hard for one coach to be able to focus on both of those things without knowing for sure that even your quarterback is going to be back next year and he’s a sophomore.”
Pittman admitted to being taken aback by the market value of players in the immediate aftermath of the season, essentially owning up to a miscalculation on his end. That is understandable considering he was trying to get Arkansas bowl eligible against a schedule sprinkled with top-25 opponents.
A general manager would take that responsibility off his plate, allowing him to focus on the on-field product instead of the money side of things.
Of course, some have pushed back on the necessity of such a position, arguing that it would take away from the funds needed for revenue sharing. Longtime sportscaster Mike Irwin brought up this counterpoint on the Dec. 30 episode of Ask Mike.
“This is another salary you’re going to have to add,” Irwin said. “What if you’re paying this guy $300,000 a year or whatever? That’s $300,000 they can’t spend on athletes, so they’re going to have to come up with an extra $300,000 in order to pay this guy and still give these athletes the maximum amount you’re allowed to pay.”
Williams’ rebuttal was simple.
“You got to pay to win though,” Williams said. “That’s kind of what life is. If you want to keep [the GM position] out, then you’re probably not going to get the results that you’re looking for.”
Revenue sharing, which will allow schools to directly pay its athletes around $20.5 million beginning this summer, makes the need even greater.
A lot of uncertainty still surrounds that looming era of college athletics, so having a GM to help navigate it all would almost certainly benefit Pittman.
Making the Case for Rawleigh Williams III
It may seem a bit odd to argue for someone with no real front office experience to be hired as a GM, but there are several examples of agents-turned-GMs having success at the professional level.
Rob Pelinka represented Kobe Bryant before joining the Lakers’ front office and helping the team win an NBA title in 2020. Just this past year, the Florida Panthers won their first Stanley Cup about four years after hiring former agent Bill Zito as their GM.
It’d make sense for Arkansas to go a similar direction because managing money and contracts would be a major part of the job — and Rawleigh Williams III is a rising star in that industry.
Just last month, the 28-year-old was named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” sports list for 2025, alongside stars like Caitlin Clark, Christian McCaffrey, Scottie Scheffler, Jayson Tatum and other sports figures.
The skills that have made him a successful agent would likely translate into a position that’d help Arkansas build a competitive roster.
“I think you need to be somebody who understands the sport and not just the art of negotiation,” Williams said. “You have to understand what you’re trying to build in terms of a roster and then also just your communication skills at that point.
“You’re dealing with both the grown men who are coaches that are trying to get a job and keep a job, and you’re dealing with kids and families who are trying to get the best offer. You have to find the middle ground on both of those and be able to relay the message and be kind of the sounding board or the foundation of what you’re trying to build a program into.”
Best of Arkansas Sports believes a bright, young person like Williams possesses the negotiating and networking skills needed to thrive as a college GM – and his obvious love for the Razorbacks is a bonus.
He said he still regularly watches games on TV and has a group chat with several of his former teammates; they talk about the program daily.
While he stressed to BoAS that he wasn’t advocating for the job, Williams didn’t shoot down the idea of at least taking a call from Hunter Yurachek or Sam Pittman.
“I’m definitely focused on trying to be the best agent I can be at this point in time,” Williams said. “At the same time, I’m 28 years old. I kind of learned not to put something or set something too soon about what the future holds. Obviously I love the sports world, so I’m sure in some capacity I’ll be doing something in it for a while.”
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More talk about a potential Arkansas football GM from Mike Irwin and Courtney Mims at the 15:25 mark below:
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