Silverfield Okay If Razorback Players Don't Like Him During Grind of Fall Camp

First-year head coach will put Hogs through physical fall camp, won't hesitate to call out 'loafers'

Apr 2, 2026; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Ryan Silverfield looks over the field during spring practice at the Arkansas Razorbacks practice facilities. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Ryan Silverfield hopes Arkansas fans like him at the end of his first season in Fayetteville, but he could care less if his players like him in the early stages of what will be a physical and grueling training camp.

"This is a grind," Silverfield said Monday. "We are going to push, we are going to strain. The next couple weeks, I don't want anyone to like me. It's got to be a physical camp, because we can't expect to have a physical ball club and not have contact practice.

"Obviously, there's limitations in how many tackling scrimmages you can do. There's limitations [with] how long before you go to full pads.

"Obviously, we're going to be smart. We want to be healthy because we understand how important depth is in this conference. But I think that they got to go out there and understand this is different. This is not spring football. This is not summer OTAs... They got to take care of their bodies.

"They got to eat. They got to hydrate. They got to pay attention to meetings because we're throwing everything at them. And I especially told our leadership group, I said, I'm coming after you. I'm going to coach you really hard."

Arkansas' first practice with full pads is set for Aug. 11, with the Hogs playing two scrimmages on Aug. 16 and Aug. 22, respectievly. The Razorbacks have 25 practices scheduled before the Sept. 5 season opener against North Alabama.

Arkansas quarterback KJ Jackson looks to pass during the Razorbacks' Red-White Spring Game. | KJ Jackson, Instagram

Update on QB1 Competition

The biggest question mark regarding the Razorbacks prior to the official start of fall practice on Wednesday is the quarterback position.

Redshirt sophomore KJ Jackson and Memphis transfer AJ Hill, a redshirt freshman are entrenched in a battle for the starting job. Silverfield has maintained all summer that the QB battle is ongoing and far from over.

Silverfield confirmed that Jackson will be taking snaps with the ones when practice starts on Wednesday, but Hill will be doing so on Thursday.

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback AJ Hill examines the field before a snap during Red-White Spring Game. | AJ HIll, Instagram

"We'll truly do an alternating deal," Silverfield said. "If we get to the point at some point... where we fell like, 'Hey, this guy now needs to get the lion's share with the ones', that'll probably be pretty telling [as to] who our starter is.

"Obviously, somebody's going to have their feelings hurt, but we've had those conversations. It's a long season. We need them both to buy into the way we're going to do things. I'm telling you right now, it's a neck-and-neck battle, and that's a very good thing for us."

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