Razorbacks active in transfer portal for multiple all-conference standouts

Silverfield already taking advantage of commitment to football program, offers pair of small school stars

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield in first day on the job at the Smith Center in Fayetteville, Ark. | Arkansas Communications

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Western Colorado (D-II) linebacker Cameron Cooper has fielded plenty of attention from all levels of college football since entering the transfer portal Dec. 2.

The Razorbacks, led by coach Ryan Silverfield, have already been aggressive recruiting the transfer portal for small school standouts which led to Cooper's offer.

The 6-foot-3, 230 pound all-conference selection posted 81 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, five sacks, five pass break-ups, one interception and one forced fumble as a redshirt junior.

Sophomore Yr

Stats:
-81 Tackles
-14 TFL
-5 Sacks
-1 INT
-1 FF
-5 BU
-First-Team All RMAC Defense
-Top Speed 22mph(catapult) pic.twitter.com/JAPenBJehv

— Cameron Cooper (@camer0ncooper) December 2, 2025

Cooper has heard from the likes of Texas Tech, James Madison, Western Kentucky, Wyoming, New Mexico State, Buffalo, UTEP, New Mexico, Colorado State, and San Jose State. He has yet to schedule official visits, but it would be a surprise to not see him take a look at what the Razorbacks and Red Raiders have to offer.

While the transfer portal doesn't offically open until Jan. 2 for FBS players looking for fresh starts, athletes at FCS programs can begin the process of vetting schools immediately upon making a decision on their future.

As a redshirt freshman, Cooper was named freshman player of the year with 66 tackles, two sacks and one interception in 2024.

Standout D2 Transfer DB Kanye Thompson has heard from these 31 schools since entering the @TransferPortal, he tells @On3Sports

He totaled 85 Tackles, 13 PBU & 4 FF in his time at Slippery Rock

Runs track as well, posting 100M times in the 10.1 range 👀https://t.co/RlUbB6Fk7q pic.twitter.com/wxQWeGpuAf

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 15, 2025

Arkansas does plan to host at least one small school transfer for a visit Jan. 3, 2026 when Slippery Rock defensive back Kanye Thompson comes to town. He recorded 60 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and 10 pass break-ups in 2025.

Thompson is one of the fastest athletes in the transfer portal, recording a personal best time of 10.1 seconds in the 100-meters during the spring. He was also a member of the 1,600 relay team that set a school record of 40.46 seconds the sophomore speedster's speed in the final leg of races.

Razorbacks Commitment to Transfer Portal

When athletics director Hunter Yurachek met with the media following the school's dismissal of Sam Pittman, he shared that Arkansas would have the means in place to recruit the transfer portal like never before because of a revitalized financial commitment to its football program.

"The keyest thing is, [Arkansas' next coach] has got to be able to embrace and adapt to what is a changing environment in college athletics," Yurachek said Sept. 30."To be able to have some advanced scouting that's really in-depth, and you can go headfirst into the transfer portal. That's the way you're going to build a program quickly."

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield during his introductory press conference along with vice chancellor and director of athletics Hunter Yurachek at Frank Broyles Center. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

While Silverfield does prefer to take at least 20 freshmen in each recruiting cycle, it would hurt his long-term roster planning should he not pursue the portal like Yurachek intended initially.

"The days of bringing in 25 or 30 freshmen and thinking that you can turn a program with freshmen, they're going to go by the wayside, especially in football," Yurachek said. "You've got to be able to really use that transfer portal, and that takes some in-depth, advanced scouting across Division II, FCS, G6 and even Power Four so that when that transfer portal opens up, you're ready to hit the ground running and we're going to provide that staff with the resources they need to do so."