With Arkansas football riding a 10-game losing streak, the transfer portal is expected to play a massive role in head coach Ryan Silverfield’s rebuilding efforts this offseason.
The 15-day window for players to enter doesn’t open until Jan. 2, but that hasn’t stopped some from already announcing their intentions to do so. Look no further than SEC foe Texas, where touted running back CJ Baxter is one of several Longhorns on their way out.
The dream at Arkansas and other struggling programs who made a coaching change this offseason is to replicate what Curt Cignetti has done at Indiana. A massive key to his immediate success with the Hoosiers was bringing a slew of transfers with him from James Madison.
That subject has come up with Silverfield in multiple interviews, but he’s understandably shot it down each time.
“That’s what college football is all about nowadays,” Silverfield said when asked about it at his introductory press conference last week. “I can’t comment on what that will look like, but we’re going to look all over and find the best fit for us. We dealt with 78 new players this past year at the University of Memphis and we know there’s going to be turnover.”
While he may not be able to comment on it for legal reasons, nothing is stopping Best of Arkansas Sports from taking a look at who might make sense for Silverfield to poach from Memphis.
We’ll start with a look at the offense…
Potential Portal Targets for Arkansas
1. RB Sutton Smith
One of the Tigers’ top offensive weapons this year was running back Sutton Smith. He split carries with Gregory Desrosiers throughout the season and even some with Frank Peasant down the stretch, but the rising fifth-year senior was the most effective of the trio.
Smith ran for a team-high 669 yards on only 102 carries, giving him a 6.6-yard average that was even better than Mike Washington’s 6.4 for the Razorbacks. He found the end zone seven times and also caught 20 passes for 109 yards, helping him earn third-team all-conference honors as a running back.
His value extends beyond the offense, though, as Smith is also a dangerous return man. While he returned only five kickoffs this season, one was a 99-yard score against UAB. He also averaged a respectable 8.3 yards on 15 punt returns. That earned him first-team all-conference honors as a return specialist. It’s also worth noting that he averaged a whopping 24.2 yards on 21 kickoff returns in 2023.
Smith’s best game of the season actually came against Arkansas, where he took 12 carries for a season-high 147 yards, including a go-ahead 64-yard touchdown rush late in the fourth quarter.
Listed at 5-foot-9, 185 pounds, it’s probably unrealistic to expect Smith to be a bellcow back in the SEC. But he’s one of the fastest players in college football, and would offer a shifty change-of-pace option in the backfield. With the Razorbacks losing Washington, he could be a nice complement to the bigger, more bruising Braylen Russell, should the rising junior elect to return.
