What does Bradley Shaw's return mean for Arkansas in 2026?

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — As the days tick away and Razorbacks slowly slip into the transfer portal, it has become unusually easier to figure out which players were staying than going.

Rising junior Bradley Shaw has played in 24 games over the past two seasons, and announced his return to the Razorbacks via Instagram. He started seven games as a sophomore this season primarily as an edge rusher, recording 50 total tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, one pass breakup and a forced fumble.

He committed to Arkansas on Christmas Day 2023 in a heated recruitment against Clemson as the No. 192 ranked prospect, No. 16 among linebackers and No. 14 high school athlete in Alabama, according to 247Sports player rankings.

Other schools in the mix included Alabama, Auburn, Colorado, Duke, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCF, USC, Vanderbilt, Washington and many others.

His return signifies a major boost to Arkansas' linebacker room that also returns another promising talent in Wyatt Simmons, who played plenty of snaps down the stretch with starter potential going into his third year with the program.

The Shaw, Simmons duo will have a host of transfers join them this spring as former starters Xavian Sorey and Stephen Dix exhausted their eligibility. Khmori House is considered a Top 10 linebacker in the portal from North Carolina and was considered highly productive in his one season in Chapel Hill.

The coaching staff also brings in Kentucky transfer Steven Soles, who is among the Top 30 linebackers in the portal. He's played in 22 games over the past two seasons, recording 16 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles during two seasons with the Wildcats.

Arkansas struggled with depth concerns in previous seasons, primarily because of the lack of finances needed to afford additional quality talent, but it seems like that is something new coach Ryan Silverfield understands and wants to avoid moving forward. The Razorbacks officially have eight linebackers in the fold, which is a solid rotational number that gives the staff versatility to play multiple schemes.

Being able to increase pressure on opposing quarterbacks more consistently will allow the Hogs' rebuilt secondary to defend effectively and to an extent more efficiently. That's something Shaw is fully capable of doing given the speed he possesses coming off the edge, including a scoop-and-score against Missouri in the 2025 season finale against Missouri.

Gimme dat pic.twitter.com/bgHr5ZjiQo
— Arkansas Razorback Football (@RazorbackFB) November 29, 2025

Classes at the University of Arkansas began Monday, meaning players still planning to enter the transfer portal had better hurry up and figure out a landing spot. There is a dead period in place which keeps schools from having visitors until Thursday, Jan. 15 for what could be a wild final 48 hours of portal activity.

Arkansas currently has tentatively 73 players on the roster heading into the spring semester with just a few days left in the lone portal window remaining. The Razorbacks rank No. 11 among SEC teams, No. 20 nationally in 247Sports transfer rankings.

Returning Razorbacks

KJ Jackson, QB
Braylen Russell, RB
Cam Settles, RB
Markeylin Batton, RB
Maddox Lassiter, FB
CJ Brown, WR
Monte Harrison, WR
Jalen Brown, WR
Ismael Cisse, WR
AJ Jordan, WR
Jaden Platt, TE
Gavin Garretson, TE
Kobe Branham, OL
Caden Kitler, OL
Kash Courtney, OL
Quincy Rhodes, DE
Charlie Collins, DE
Trent Sellers, DE
Caleb Bell, DE
Kieundre Johnson, DE
David Oke, DL
Brad Shaw, LB
Wyatt Simmons, LB
Gavin Rush, P

Arkansas fans can stay up to date with all of roster transactions, list of coaches and more by using the Razorbacks on SI offseason tracker.

Returning Razorbacks

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