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Arkansas Razorbacks Coaches Need to Keep Focus on True Priorities

Hogs need to stack up wins before worrying about getting into SEC fashion show
Kent Smith|
Arkansas Razorbacks returner Isaiah Sategna tries to jump a Texas A&M Aggies defender and loses ball in September 2023 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Arkansas Razorbacks returner Isaiah Sategna tries to jump a Texas A&M Aggies defender and loses ball in September 2023 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. | Michael Morrison-Hogs on SI Images

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It started with the posting of a single image of a black helmet with a white Razorbacks logo on the side with one red eye.

It appeared to be the work of a random fan who may have created it using AI and just threw it out to see if people thought it was as cool as he thought.

There were a handful of positive responses the day it posted, but it was mostly met with people saying the team had better focus on winning and not get buried in stuff like worrying about fashion.

It didn't seem like much other than a meaningless, yet harmless way to kill a few seconds of social media doom scrolling on a snow hampered afternoon in January.

Then beloved Arkansas defensive end Quincy Rhodes, Jr. came out with his own photos of him wearing a couple of all black Razorbacks uniforms that included the helmet from the day before in one option.

Now, it is to be assumed this too was an AI generated image, although, based on the spelling on the uniform and the fingers in the photos, it's more likely the work of Photoshop, which gives it a little more serious feeling. Serious, as in this is getting floated around the team either by coaches or players with the intent of seeing what either side thinks of the look, or fit as they might call it .

If this is just players goofing around imagining what all kinds of looks Arkansas could have had over the years, then so be it. However, if this is the work of coaches testing the water, don't.

This isn't the time, nor place for it. There are priorities cash strapped Hogs fans are worried about as they get fleeced for even more money and apparently the students possibly get shook down too in the system's latest move.

If this is an actual consideration, it would be wise to quickly squash it. This new, more expensive staff, needs to be about the focus on the many real problems at hand rather than trying to create self-inflicted controversy for no reason that will alienate a large chunk of the fan base.

Just a word of advice if this is legitimate. Let it go.

This has Chad Morris vibes all over it and there are already enough people trying to draw parallels between Ryan Silverfield's tenure and Morris' without you ever coaching a game. Don't add fuel to the fire for no reason.

Go out there and win some games in the red and white. It's a look so good it's rumored Oklahoma once stole it, so ride with it. 

If the staff and players want to mix it up for one special week, go with the fully iced out look already in the closet that goes white head to toe. That one seems to be a crowd pleaser.

If the Hogs manage to win five games next year, then mix in the anthracite look one week in addition to the icy white. There will be a few grumps, but the players seem to love it.

However, no matter how many games Silverfield's staff wins, the black color scheme probably needs to stay on the old laptop.

Arkansas fans already saw that look last year in so many photos leading up to the annual game at War Memorial Stadium. It's called Arkansas State.

The all black is a very Sun Belt look. Especially for an SEC team with no black in its colors. It just feels like a desperate cry for attention.

There's room to play around with the helmet in terms of metallic, matte, or certain shadows. The Hogs might could even get away with a gradient of red to white or white to red if it's well thought out.

However, Arkansas has one of the most iconic logos in all of sports to work with. Don't overthink this.

Have fun with the gloves. Get creative with the shoes so long as they serve their purpose. Play around with the helmets to a limited extent. 

Just follow two simple rules. No forward facing Hog and no black uniforms.

If Silverfield and his staff wanted to coach in Arkansas and hit the field in black uniforms, they should have went to Jonesboro. This is the SEC where football is taken seriously and supposedly played at a level it doesn't need bits. 

Look at Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Auburn and LSU. They didn't spend this century running out uniforms in colors that weren't even their own. They each have a classic look that means business and they each took care of business at some point in time this century to win one or more national championships.

Leave the black jerseys that make no sense to the Kentuckys of the world. Be iconic and eventually have play that reflects it. 

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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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