Hogs Fill Defensive Coaching Spot with Silverfield's Familiar Foe

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield may seemingly be out of Memphis coaches to bring along for the ride in Fayetteville as he tries to navigate his first season leading the Arkansas Razorbacks, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have access to Memphis adjacent coaches to fill whatever roles he may need.

A couple of weeks ago, defensive line coach Marion Hobby abruptly left to take the same position with the Indianapolis Colts, leaving Silverfield with the first of what turned out to be two holes to fill when quarterbacks coach Clint Trickett departed to be the offensive coordinator at Maryland shortly afterward.

This morning, word has trickled out that Hobby's position likely has been filled. Football Scoop is reporting that Landius Wilkerson will leave Tulane after two seasons to take over the defensive line at Arkansas. Wilkerson, a native of East Tennessee, coached against Silverfield as one of the major powers in the American Athletics Conference with the playoff qualifying Green Wave.

He takes over a patchwork group that has been pieced together through the transfer portal with the exception of projected first round NFL Draft pick Quincey Rhodes. Other than Rhodes, the only defensive lineman Razorbacks fans would know from the previous season is Charlie Collins.

The Hogs also have Danny Beale to work with as a true freshman. It typically takes time because of the natural physical maturation needed to compete in the trenches at the SEC level, but Beale is rated the No. 106 player overall in his recruiting class and was the No. 1 prospect from Arkansas.

Wilkerson will have little time to get to know his players with spring practice beginning March 15.

Former Razorbacks defensive line coach gets landing spot

According to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz, former Arkansas defensive line coach Deke Adams is going to spend next fall in the mountains of West Virginia.

West Virginia is expected to hire Deke Adams as defensive ends coach, sources tell @CBSSports.

Was defensive line coach at Arkansas the last four seasons and coached players like 2025 third-round draft pick Landon Jackson. pic.twitter.com/zeOCnu9VA8
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 24, 2026

Adams was most well known for having a strong relationship with his players. However, his downfall was not necessarily developing them into the type of athletes Arkansas needed to compete with in the SEC.

While Landon Jackson blossomed into an elite edge rusher who helped the Hogs put together a Top 40 rushing defense, Adams was unable to hold things together. He had an extreme lack of depth last season and appears to have gotten in the crosshairs of interim coach Bobby Petrino when Sam Pittman was fired just a few games into the season after the Hogs got destroyed by Notre Dame in Razorback Stadium.

Petrino quickly dismissed Adams, along with defensive coordinators Travis Williams and Marcus Woodson. Unfortunately for Arkansas, their dismissal did little to help improve the Razorbacks' performance on defense, sending the Hogs plunging to a 2-10 record to close out the season.

The weakness of Adams' defensive line particularly showed against Silverfield's Memphis team. Because of a mix-up, the Tigers had to send in the third string quarterback with the game on the line.

If Arkansas could get a stop on 3rd & 8 at the Memphis nine-yard line, then the Hogs would have a minute left to gain a few yards to get into field goal range and win the game. However, Arrington Maiden carried nearly 400 pound Arkansas defensive lineman Ian Geffrard 11 yards for the first down to seal the win.

To make things look worse for Adams, Memphis running back Sutton Smith, who was among the worst starting running backs in the AAC, blew the doors off the Hogs in his lone explosive game with 147 yards rushing, including a 64-yard touchdown with just under five minutes left to play.

Former Razorbacks defensive line coach gets landing spot

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