Hogs' biggest portal addition appears to have gone overlooked by Arkansas fans

Razorbacks' Silverfield hits jackpot in landing Williams from Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Offensive Tackle Bryant Williams during the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Football Media Day. Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.
Offensive Tackle Bryant Williams during the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Football Media Day. Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. | SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- It's officially the final day of the 2026 transfer portal and the Arkansas Razorbacks stand in need of impact players at running back and linebacker.

However, with school having started back last Monday on most campuses, including Arkansas, the portal is heavily pocked over already and odds are low a strong prospect will jump in the portal at the last second without a deal already in place to go somewhere else on the fly.

Because of the current circumstances, it appears Arkansas already has its top portal pick-up in house and it's someone who may have slid by Razorbacks fans without them even noticing.

Bryant Williams, an offensive tackle by way of the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, has by far the highest portal grade at a .9300. Not only has he logged 36 games under his belt, but still photos clearly show this is the sort of man coaches want walking off the bus first at away games.

There is little, if any, fat on his 6-foot-7, 335 pound frame. He was a priority for Florida State, but Arkansas managed to hold the Seminoles off for his pledge, which took a lot of pressure off in regard to the departure of former starting tackle E'Marion Harris.

One clear sign the Razorbacks landed a quality player in Williams is the fact he gave up only 10 pressures the entire season last year. That means less than once per game, a player for whom he was responsible for blocking kinda sorta got close to the quarterback.

It should be noted that not once did the quarterback get sacked in any of those 10 instances. As far as game film goes, there is only one game from last season that is comparable as far as high level competition.

Early in the year, on a hot afternoon in Columbia, Williams got to show what he's got against Eli Drinkwitz's Missouri Tigers. While it was against SEC level competition, there was no need to look up Williams' jersey number to figure out which player he was on the field.

From beginning to end he dominated every second he was on the field. It was like watching Mizzou defenders try to run through a concrete wall.

At no point did they make any progress against the much larger and stronger Williams. Even more comical was when he would push his way to the second level and pair himself against one of these tiny SEC linebackers.

Defenders were sent flying like they just hit the floor of a children's bounce house off balance. The only issue on the day was Williams was Louisiana's only true super star on offense.

They moved him around from left tackle to right tackle in an effort to generate some sort of offense, but a single offensive lineman can only do so much. While it was a stellar day for Williams, it was a laughable performance for his teammates.

The Tigers went on to easily destroy the Cajuns under the sweltering Midwestern heat. However, that will be a much different case with Williams plugged in alongside several key components from a strong Razorbacks offensive line from last season.

Guys like Kade Kitler, Kobe Branham and expected riser Kash Courtney should make Williams even more effective as he anchors the offensive line against what is expected to be a long list of powerful defensive fronts.

While his final role is still to be determined, one thing is crystal clear. Williams is the star of this class, and it's a designation well earned.

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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.