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Silverfield impresses national outlet with Razorbacks' 2026 recruiting class

Short work paid off for new Arkansas coach given generous offseason ranking from ESPN
Jacob Davis|
Arkansas Razorbacks new coach Ryan Silverfield speaks to the crowd during halftime against the Louisville Cardinals at Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas Razorbacks new coach Ryan Silverfield speaks to the crowd during halftime against the Louisville Cardinals at Bud Walton Arena. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — New Arkansas football coach Ryan Silverfield probably hasn't had much time to get shut-eye lately as most of his work has gone into building his first roster ahead of spring practice.

The calendar has been rigorous to this point with his official hiring coming Nov. 30, the early signing period Dec. 3, and now he is working the transfer portal which began Jan. 2 but ends Friday, Jan. 16.

His first recruiting class won't blow anyone away based on commitment ranking alone, but the pieces added since his hiring can be a foundation for the future if each of them stay course.

ESPN gives Arkansas a very generous ranking of No. 2 among FBS teams after rebuilding its recruiting class since Silverfield's hiring.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield
Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield during his introductory press conference at Frank Broyles Center. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

The list includes 10 Power Four programs that "underwent a coaching change and have done the best job navigating a challenging transition period while assembling young, prep talent" in a very short period of time.

Sam Pittman built one of the better recruiting classes in the country last spring, but his firing in late September led to several decommitments and derailed a solid group. Silverfield, who came from Memphis, has quickly sparked a resurgence, focusing on winning recruiting battles in his own backyard and leveraging relationships and successes that made him a well-known figure in the Razorbacks footprint.

Six of Arkansas' top seven high school prospects are in-state additions. Wide receiver Dequane Prevo was a holdover, but Silverfield landed the No. 1 player in the state, defensive tackle Danny Beale, within hours of being named head coach. Beale is a thickly built 300-pounder with good power and quickness.

Silverfield further bolstered the defensive line by bringing home tackle Anthony Kennedy, a former Miami commit, and flipping top-ranked in-state running back, Terry Hodges, from SEC rival Missouri. While this class still trails much of the SEC, Silverfield executed a smart game plan in a short amount of time to vault the Razorbacks back into the middle of the pack nationally, showing promising signs of what he can do moving forward.
Craig Haubert, ESPN

ESPN's Ranking

1. Penn State
2. Arkansas
3. LSU
4. Florida
5. Ole Miss
6. Stanford
7. Auburn
8. Kentucky
9. Oklahoma State
10. Cal

In-state Hogs

This group is built upon in-state athletes such as defensive tackles Danny Beale, Anthony Kennedy, running back TJ Hodges, linebacker Jakore Smith, wide receivers Dequane Prevo, Blair Irvin III, offensive line man Tucker Young, defensive backs Tay Lockett, Kyndrick Williams and reclassified 4-star quarterback Hank Hendrix.

While Prevo, Young, Williams and Lockett endured the coaching change, the others were set to go out of state.

Beale was committed to Oklahoma State and pursued heavily by Ole Miss, LSU, Georgia and many others. Until Silverfield swooned in and convinced him to head east for Fayetteville, he was likely headed to a rival SEC program instead.

The same happened with Kennedy, who was once committed to Missouri prior to flipping his pledge to Miami amid a national championship run.

Kennedy, 6-foot-4.5, 330 pounds, comes from a family of SEC-level athletes with offers from schools across the country. Other schools interested in the Little Rock native were SMU, USC, LSU, Georgia, Florida, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Kansas State, Texas, Texas A&M and many others.

The previous regime also missed out on keeping Hodges (former Missouri commit) and Smith (former Oklahoma commit) in-state. But both ultimately decided to stay home and play for the Razorbacks following productive high school careers.

Give Him a Chance

Silverfield inherited a mess of a class ranked in the 80s at the time of his hiring. But there's nothing like building up fan morale by signing the state's best recruits when history shows the Razorbacks are at its best when homegrown talents stay home and embrace Arkansas across their chests.

Good press is great press and anytime Arkansas is rated highly for its off-the-field efforts, it is worth noting. All Silverfield asked for was for Razorbacks fans to give him a "fighting chance" to move the program in the right direction.

Early indications show that he is doing just that early on.

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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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