Razorbacks suffer significant loss to offensive line via transfer portal

Once prized transfer decides to leave program after one season at Arkansas

Arkansas Razorbacks new coach Ryan Silverfield speaks to the crowd during halftime against the Louisville Cardinals at Bud Walton Arena. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas Razorbacks haven't seen much defection since Ryan Silverfield was hired as coach last week, but the program will be without one key offensive lineman moving foward.

Redshirt freshman Shaq McRoy will enter the transfer portal, according to On3 Sports. The 6-foot-8, 335 pound lineman played most of his snaps at right tackle in relief of veteran E'Marion Harris this season.

College athletes can announce their intentions to enter the transfer portal now, but it will not officially open until Jan. 2 through Jan. 16, 2026.

BREAKING: Arkansas OL JacQawn “Shaq” McRoy plans to enter the @TransferPortal, he tells @On3Sports⁰⁰The 6’8 335 OL appeared in 6 games this season

He started his career at Oregon & will have 3 years of eligibility left⁰https://t.co/RlUbB6EMhS pic.twitter.com/cLunMQN606

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 9, 2025

McRoy transferred to Arkansas ahead of the 2025 season after beginning his college career at Oregon. The Alabama native chose the Ducks over the Razorbacks in a very close race in his high school recruitment.

Despite limited duty, McRoy did get in on some action against Notre Dame at home, scoring the Razorbacks lone touchdown in a 56-13 loss.

He became the first Arkansas offensive lineman to rush for a touchdown since Shawn Andrews in 2003 in a 52-6 win at Mississippi State. He was alsothe first Arkansas lineman to score a touchdown since Alan D’Appollonio more than a decade ago in a 45-17 win over UAB in 2014.

The touchdown pass was thrown by none other than starting right guard, Sebastian Tretola, who started his own Heisman campaign.

Out of high school, McRoy was considered a 4-star prospect nationally, No. 95 player overall, No. 9 among offensive tackles and No. 7 player in Alabama, according to 247sports. He fielded offers from other programs such as Colorado, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Auburn, Florida, Clemson, Miami, Mississippi State, Tennessee and many others.

He was named to the 2024 Under Armour All-American Game roster and also appeared in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game.

He logged 58 snaps, finishing with a 64.6 offensive grade with a 50.1 score in pass-blocking and 63.9 score in run-blocking, per Pro Football Focus.

As mentioned earlier, McRoy is just the second Razorback to enter the transfer portal along with defensive back KeShawn Davilla, a former JUCO All-American at East Mississippi.

Silverfield opted to not retain offensive line coach Eric Mateos during the transition, which caused a stir on social media following the news. His departure was likely one reason for McRoy's decision to dip into the transfer portal

The Razorbacks' offense was powered by its offensive line, paving the way to a Top 20 finish in total yards (455 ypg, No. 19 FBS), rushing (192 ypg, No. 26FBS), passing (263 ypg, No. 32 FBS) and points (33 ppg, No. 27 FBS).

Transfer running back Mike Washington was one of the lone bright spots on a 2-10 squad as he became the No. 23 player in program history to exceed the 1,000 yard mark on the ground with 1,070 yards and eight touchdowns. Both marks were career highs and likely helped his draft stock moving forward.

It appears the Razorbacks will have co-offensive line coaches at least for the first season under Silverfield. He hired Ohio State’s Marcus Johnson and Memphis’ Jeff Myers to replace Mateos.

Both coaches have previous relationships with Silverfield. Johnson played for Silverfield with the Vikings and Myers served as Memphis’ offensive line coach and run game coordinator the last two seasons.