Size in trenches from portal will say much about Hogs' future under Silverfield

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — If anyone forgot today was the day the transfer portal opens, their Twitter feed would certainly serve as a reminder.

It's the day Arkansas fans have come to both love and hate. There's always a few players they don't want to see leave, but they also allow themselves to get excited about incoming players, most of whom they have never seen play a single second.

For new Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield, it will be his proving ground. Will he be the next Lane Kiffin minus the drama, or will he prove to be, as many Hogs fans fear, another Chad Morris with his slogan drug over from an area G5 school and no idea as to how to properly piece together an effective SEC roster?

The biggest key to this is going to be in watching how the offensive and defensive lines are constructed over the next two weeks. Morris, for some unknown reason, wanted super light linemen to compete in the SEC because he wanted to maximize quickness.

What he maximized was how quickly SEC teams could drive his players back onto their backsides in the trenches, setting Arkansas on the path to a 20-game conference losing streak. There are already at least a couple of red flags.

Perhaps no up and coming player received more hype and praise than freshman offensive lineman Blake Cherry. Sam Pittman spoke of him as one half of a pair of the next wave of great blockers at Arkansas and highly respected captain and demon of the trenches, Frenando Carmona, talked him up also.

Pittman thought so much of Cherry that he warned more veteran linemen considering coming back that it would be difficult to find a spot, and this was before the actual football season even started.

"Those two cats [Cherry and Kash Courtney] are gonna be really good," Pittman said Aug. 18. "And I've really been thinking about, like, if I had a sixth year of [eligibility], if I had to come back for one more year, I would be battling against the spot for Blake Cherry. Like, I mean, that kid is a straight up dog."

If there's one thing Pittman knows, it's talent along the offensive line and how important it is to success in the SEC.

Cherry is listed at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds, which is impressive, but natural growth from maturity and a proper weight program would have pushed him to around 335 without losing any speed or agility by the end of spring.

As Nick Saban drilled into the heads of his never ending coaching tree, when it comes to the SEC, "mass kicks [backside]." Pretty sure you can figure out the actual saying.

The point is, Cherry is not the type of player Silverfield should let walk. A massive portion of this roster could head out the door and it wouldn't matter, but Cherry is the foundation upon which the future should have been built.

His freshman year was driven by two of the greatest offensive line coaches to ever darken an SEC sideline while he got to watch and learn from some of the best position group teammates to strap on the Hogs' helmet. That's value that can't be replaced.

He also has plenty of eligibility. This isn't someone Silverfield can afford to let walk because of money.

This was supposed to be a new era when it came to finances, so either someone lied, or money isn't being dispersed in a way that aligns with success in the SEC. Arkansas has already proven skills players are a dime a dozen.

They turned former D-II players into super stars, including the SEC's leading receiver. Running backs have come with high success and low impact on the check book.

They can all be found. But what is rare is a quality offensive and defensive linemen, so seeing Cherry walk is a great concern, whether it be because of philosophy along the offensive line or a disagreement on finances.

Another red flag is the departure of Pine Bluff's Charlie Collins. Silverfield was supposed to be the friend to in-state athletes, yet one of the up and coming prospects from the state is looking to head elsewhere rather than continue to develop as a Razorback.

At 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, Collins was starting to grow into the role. The question was just whether he was going to become the complement to another local star, Quincy Rhodes, Jr., or if he needed to add weight and push to the interior of the line.

His three tackles against Auburn suggests Collins is one offseason away from being able to fully compete in the SEC. However, he's off looking for his next school.

Fellow defensive lineman Kavion Henderson, who is similar size and also came in with Collins as a pair of Top 150 recruits who were supposed to be the anchors of the defensive line this coming season when they signed, is also leaving. Unfortunately, Henderson had yet to show what he can do in an SEC game.

The point is there is reason for concern based on Silverfield letting Cherry and Collins leave. That being said, there will be close to 3,000 players in the portal when this is all done.

That's a lot of talent to pick through. It's more than enough to guarantee the new Hogs staff will be able to easily show its portal philosophy and also a clear philosophy on the style of players Silverfield wants.

Keeping an eye on the size and pedigree of players Arkansas brings in to compete on its line is going to be important.

That is where fans will be able to quickly determine whether the future of this program is bright, or whether dark days are ahead once again.

For the sake of the hard working people of this state who have wanted nothing more than a good reason to watch their football team play the last three games of the season and go somewhere other than the Liberty Bowl, let's hope there is a bit of mass coming by way of the portal.

Otherwise, the Liberty Bowl will be a distant dream once again.

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