Multimillion Dollar Goal Thrown Out as Silverfield Burns Up Phone Lines for Portal Haul

How Much Does Arkansas Need?

It’s impossible to know how successful Ryan Silverfield has been in those efforts, but there is reason for optimism. After all, he’s already shown a knack for being better at the Shark Tank aspect of the job than his predecessor.

Of course, one question looms large: How much does he need for a strong finish to the portal haul?

During Wednesday’s segment with Davenport, Rainwater estimated the remaining price tag to be about $3 million. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s recruiting expert concurred, saying that was “in the ballpark.”

Figuring out an exact budget for Arkansas’ remaining needs is difficult, especially considering we have no idea what’s already been spent, but we can come make an educated guess thanks to a couple of sources.

In December, CBS Sports compiled a position-by-position breakdown of the going rate for players this portal cycle after talking to numerous agents, general managers and collective leaders.

On top of that, Best of Arkansas Sports had sports economist Parker Fleming concoct his recipe for a hypothetical $25 million payroll.

It’s no secret that the Razorbacks entered Friday with a major need for safety and defensive tackle.

They addressed the latter with the commitment of Oregon defensive lineman Xadavien Sims, who rarely saw the field in two seasons but was a top-120 recruit out of high school. That’s a similar story to Carlon Jones, another former blue-chip recruit who transferred to Arkansas after sparse playing time at USC.

Fleming allotted $242,310 for a fourth-string defensive tackle, which is close to the bottom of the $250,000-$500,000 range for a “low end” DT, per CBS. If Sims is in the ballpark of that sum, that’s a reasonable price for a high-ceiling backup with three years of eligibility remaining.

The Razorbacks previously landed a potential starter in Hunter Osborne, who had a productive season at Virginia after starting his career at Alabama. He will likely join returning fifth-year senior David Oke to form the starting tandem on the inside.

On the opposite side of the trenches from Sims, offensive lineman Ayden Bussell also signed with Arkansas. He stepped away from West Virginia’s team in August for health reasons and did not play last season. He projects as a reserve piece.

The situation at safety was more dire entering Friday, as Cincinnati transfer Christian Harrison was the lone starting-quality transfer on board, and there’s a chance he ends up playing nickel. The Razorbacks also had only one backup signed in Ian Williams from Memphis, and he’s just a second-year player who played sparingly on defense in 2025.

At a minimum, Arkansas needed another starter and backup safety. According to CBS Sports, the average price tag for the position is $350,000-$500,000, while Fleming distributes the safety money as follows:

• S1: $795,899
• S2: $356,175
• S3: $222,534
• S4: $159,393

Of course, the secondary also needs two more defensive backs on top of those two safeties just to fill out a full three-deep depth chart. Even if Arkansas targeted a couple of “low end” cornerbacks to fill those spots, those cost between $150,000-$300,000, per CBS.

Conservatively, the Razorbacks are looking at north of $1 million just to finish off their defense. Tack on some depth pieces on the other side of the ball and that number could easily climb over $2 million.

Home Stretch in the Transfer Portal

Friday was a significant date for Ryan Silverfield and Co.

Not only was it the final day for players to enter the transfer portal, but it also marked the last day to enroll in classes for the spring semester at Arkansas – a necessity to go through spring ball.

The feeling amongst those around the program was that the Razorbacks needed to finish off most, if not all, of their 2026 roster by the end of the day Friday.

Sure enough, after a few quiet days because of a bizarre dead period in the middle of the portal window, Arkansas landed six more transfers, with four defensive backs joining the two big boys.

• Colorado’s Carter Stoutmire made 37 tackles in eight games last season with a combined 90 tackles and 12 pass breakups over three years with the Buffaloes. With 15 games of Power Four starting experience under his belt, Stoutmire projects as a surefire starter who will likely be making close to Fleming’s projection for a first-stringer.

• John Howse IV started his career at Vanderbilt before transferring to Middle Tennessee, where he had 51 tackles, 2 interceptions and a forced fumble in 2024. He only appeared in four games last year due to injury, and projects as a likely backup in the Arkansas secondary, likely in the $200,000 to $300,000 range Fleming estimated.
• West Georgia’s Kyeaure Magloire brings great positional size at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, and had a productive season at the D-II level last year, tallying 42 tackles, 3 pass breakups and 2 interceptions. The Minneola, Fla., native is probably in the low six-figure range.
• Nsongbeh Ginyui posted 47 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble as a freshman at Bakersfield C.C. (Calif.), earning first team all-conference honors. He chose the Hogs over Mississippi State and has three years of eligibility remaining. Like Magloire, he will likely be in the low six-figure range.

Arkansas still needs a starting-caliber defensive back and another reliable backup. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Silverfield target more depth at wide receiver or both sides of the trenches.

The Head Hog will likely have to spend his holiday weekend hitting the hotline again to get that done.

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