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Delay of press conference key to Silverfield turning Hogs fans around

Unfounded hatred shown to new Arkansas coach being whittled away one recruit at a time
Kent Smith|
Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield looks on during the second half against the South Florida Bulls at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield looks on during the second half against the South Florida Bulls at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

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Arkansas RazorbacksMemphis Tigers

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When it was announced new Razorbacks football coach Ryan Silverfield would have an introductory press conference until Thursday, there were plenty who groaned and then griped that this was happening because Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek has College Football Playoff duties, which prevents him from handling his actual job.

Unfortunately, these people don't own calendars, nor understand how planes work. Yurachek could have easily done a morning press conference introducing Silverfield and then made the short flight to Dallas where the playoff committee meets.

The Gaylord Texan is basically next door to DFW Airport, and if there's no place to land there, a smaller airport that caters to private jets is just up the road in Addison. As for the calendar part, there is a major signing date coming up this week and what little there is o fthe new coaching staff is taking it seriously.

Everyone who covers the team in any serious manner knows Silverfield needs the first three days on the job to try to flip as many recruits into becoming Razorbacks as possible. Sure, he may do a few radio appearances since he can drop in by phone from anywhere on the planet, but as far as an in-person shin-dig that requires a lot of shaking hands, remembering names of people with big egos and answering a ton of questions, that can wait.

One of the biggest selling points on Silverfield is he already knows the Arkansas recruiting footprint. There's not a player they can legitimately flip that he hasn't already communicated with beforehand and hasn't watched on tape. He also has previously recruited a good portion of the current Razorbacks roster, so, overall, he has a huge head start over the guys who were also in consideration for the job.

One thing fans grew frustrated with over the years is a lack of focus on local talent. No matter how much people liked former head coach Sam Pittman, there seemed to be a large disconnect with players and fans alike in certain areas of the state.

Unfortunately for him, a lot of the top players this year happen to be from these forgotten locales. That's why players from places like Cross County and Marion have not committed to Arkansas despite their high rankings.

Then, on one of those radio visits, in this case an early morning talk with "The Chuck and Bo Show," Silverfield did what no new coach is supposed to do. He made a promise that seems almost impossible to back up.

Without the slightest hesitation in his voice, the new Hogs coach promised to deliver one of the best signing classes in Arkansas history despite only having three days to do so. Obviously, that was met with a roll of the eyes as many fans openly pondered whether the Razorbacks have landed another Chad Morris.

Then news started trickling out. Before Silverfield ever spoke, word came down that 4-star defensive tackle Anthony Kennedy out of Little Rock Central was seriously considering becoming a Razorback.

A few hours after Silverfield finished his radio interviews, both Rivals and ESPN reported that 4-star defensive lineman Danny Beale, the state's top-ranked player, switched from expected to go to Ole Miss to coming to Arkansas.

No long after that, Bryant linebacker Jakore Smith jumped on board also. It was beginning to reach a point where it was hard to keep up with all the defensive players suddenly wanting to be Razorbacks.

Just prior to that, Silverfield flipped Bryant 4-star running back TJ Hodges from Missouri to Arkansas. Suddenly, after years of not having to worry about knowing recruits who didn't reside in a handful of Northwest Arkansas towns, the flood gates opened around a state Silverfield had been recruiting as Memphis coach for years.

He promised a class that would make Arkansas fans surprised as the Hogs piled up talent in a short span, and that wild boast started coming to fruition five minutes at a time it seemed. As soon as the next recruit got to his lunch break at school, he was apparently snatching out his phone and letting people know he's going to be a Hog.

One of the first things Silverfield said when talking to head basketball coach John Calipari was he needs to get a defense to Arkansas as soon as possible. That's a thought process Calipari could definitely support from a philosophical standpoint and Razorbacks fans desperately want addressed.

That's why it was a good sign for Silverfield to get affirmation from Oklahoma defensive end recruit Colton Yarbrough to reaffirm his commitment and show excitement for the new hire. The Durant product is currently the No. 5 player in the Sooner State.

This piece could probably hold off publication for a while longer and compile more names either reaffirming commitments or adding themselves to the list of new recruits. However, the point is made.

It was the right call to delay Silverfield's formal introduction. Not only did he need time to focus on recruiting, he needed a chance to bring something tanglible to the table.

There was an expected blow back for whomever got the job because people within the state, especially a small group of loud and powerful people in the central part of Arkansas, have done a good job of conditioning Razorbacks fans to hate anything Yurachek does. They have been highly effective, which is why not even Nick Saban could have gotten a positive shake at this if it had been the current athletics director who signed him.

People would complain the Hogs football program is over for good and should be shut down because this loser of an administrator had brought them some washed up old TV guy who had to quit because he couldn't cut it anymore at Alabama.

However, the hatred and disrespect shown by Razorbacks fans toward Silverfield was unexpected and at unprecedented levels. Without knowing anything about him or hearing him say a word, they dismissed his win over Arkansas as a fluke and called him every dirty word under the sun while demanding he go back to Memphis.

How he has landed any recruits with Hogs fans trying to sabotage his efforts and further damage the program with every click of a keyboard is stunning. It's simply unfair to both he and the few coaches he has rounded up so far.

Had it been Frank Broyles who hired him instead, the reaction would have been much different, as was shown when Houston Nutt was hired under very similar circumstances.

Still, with a few days to prove his value and distance himself from being a Yurachek hire, Silverfield has room to change fan perception of him a little before he is finally introduced. His hope is he can use the skills that made him successful in Memphis to bring a positive swing in recruiting to the podium, allowing his work to do the talking for him while sloughing off the weight of who handed him the contract.

Most of all, he can talk about how his deep knowledge of Arkansas and the coaches in the area helped him make this one of the most successful in-state recruiting runs in a long time. If he can add a solid list of out-of-state recruits to go with it, then land key guys from the locker room, Silverfield can fully restore his image before January.

It's just unfortunate he's having to do that on his first day on the job. It's a shameful look for a fan base whose first reaction was to refuse to like, much less show love for a man who so clearly has shown in his first few hours how much he loves the job and the state.

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Kent Smith
KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments. 

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