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Razorbacks' New Staff Re-offers Standout Mississippi Linebacker

Magnolia state standout has become top prospect after adding new offers from Arkansas, Ole Miss.
Jacob Davis|
Tupelo, (Miss.) High School linebacker Kaiden Buchanan stands on the sideline during a 2025 regular season game.
Tupelo, (Miss.) High School linebacker Kaiden Buchanan stands on the sideline during a 2025 regular season game. | Kaiden Buchanan, X

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Razorbacks' new coaching staff is one of the latest SEC programs to offer Tupelo (Miss.) High School standout linebacker Kaiden Buchanan.

Arkansas defensive coordinator Ron Roberts offered Buchanan earlier this week and he plans to take a visit this spring he tells All SEC Football.

"The Razorbacks also stands out as another strong SEC school," Buchanan said. "I’m looking forward to continuing build relationships with the new coaching staff.”

Buchanan, 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, has witnessed his recruiting stock skyrocket in recent weeks after a phenomenal sophomore campaign. He recorded 75 total tackles, 22 quarterback hurries, 13.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in 2025.

As a sophomore, Buchanan showed the ability to be disruptive at all three levels by forcing four fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and three pass deflections on the way to being named a Mississippi Class 7A all-state selection.

Buchanan is currently focused on continuing to build relationships with coaching staffs and planning spring visits.

He is a 4-star prospect at No. 57 nationally, No. 4 among linebackers and No. 4 among athletes in Mississippi for the 2028 recruiting cycle, according to Rivals.

He experienced a fairly busy first season at the varsity level in 2024, recording 108 Tackles, 35 tackles for loss, 11.5 Sacks, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery as a freshman.

There are quite a few other schools expressing interest in the rising junior such as Kentucky, Mississippi State, BYU, UNLV, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida State, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas A&M and many others.

While the Razorbacks don't currently have a commitment from a 2028 prospect, new coach Ryan Silverfield and his coaching staff have been extremely active in offering athletes in the 2027, 2028, and 2029 recruiting cycles across the country.

As for in-state athletes, those with offers include Braylyn Brown (Joe T. Robinson), Jamir Lee (North Little Rock), and Kentz Brown (Dumas).

Where Razorbacks Look at LB for 2026

Roberts and his defensive coaching staff had to do a complete flip of its unit, including a rebuild of the linebacker position. The Razorbacks saw two of its starters eligibility expire in Xavian Sorey and Stephen Dix following the season.

Promising youngsters such as former 4-star freshman Tavion Wallace, freshman JJ Shelton and redshirt freshman Justin Logan entered the transfer portal.

There are a couple of returnees in part-time starter Brad Shaw and redshirt freshman Wyatt Simmons who will probably play key roles next season.

Arkansas also brings in immediate impact transfer Khmori House (North Carolina), who was highly regarded out of the portal at No. 139, along with Steven Soles (Kentucky), Phoenix Jackson (Baylor), Jeremy Evans (Baylor) and Ben Bogle (West Virginia).

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Jacob Davis
JACOB DAVIS

Jacob Davis is a reporter for Arkansas Razorbacks on SI, with a decade of experience covering high school and transfer portal recruiting. He has previously worked at Rivals, Saturday Down South, SB Nation and hosted podcasts with Bleav Podcast Network where his show was a finalist for podcast of the year. Native of El Dorado, he currently resides in Central Arkansas with his wife and daughter.

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