Top recruits worth Hogs spending big in transfer portal

While no one outside Arkansas Razorbacks football offices has clue about NIL budget, Silverfield should have at least one monster swing if he wants

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

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Early estimates are if Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield wants to go all in and chase down a proven quarterback who is expected to be considered among the best in all of college football, he's got to write a check for $4 million per year.

For those who float between both college and NFL football, that's as much or more than 68 current NFL quarterbacks per year.

That's a massive chunk of the budget going out the window, so whomever this guy is, he'd better be elite. The problem is the quarterback position is such a crap shoot year to year that there's no such thing as a guarantee.

Remember when KJ Jefferson was expected to be the elite force who was going to lead the Hogs into unforeseen greatness following his breakout 9-4 season. He ate Skittles, he lifted weights and he collected checks, but Jefferson struggled as a leader and with reading defenses, so the former star never showed so bright ever again, dimming with each passing season no matter where he went.

Perhaps it's worth simply thinking back to the beginning of this past season to the list of names bandied about for potential shoe-in Heisman finalists. The men worth sinking boat loads of cash into were Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier and Cade Klubnik.

One could barely throw a basic pass for most of the season, one got his coach fired and the other landed his coach on the hot seat. That's why the general rule of thumb is if there is a quarterback in the building a coach thinks he can trust, it's best to go with the guy whose demeanor and skills you already know rather than shoving him out the door for a much pricier potential head case.

For Silverfield, all indications are Hogs quarterback KJ Jackson will do nicely. He got his shot in limited action late in the season against the Texas and Missouri defenses, both fairly respected groups, and in limited action, he had 360 all purpose yards with three touchdowns while completing 29-of-46 passes with a not quite so feared group of receivers.

That should be more than enough to keep Silverfield from going off the deep end by blowing his budget on a quarterback. However, who is out there who's worth digging a little deeper into the pocket to find a few extra coins to bring in who's currently declared for the transfer portal?

Chaz Coleman, Edge
Penn St.

If you're going to go hard on your budget for at least one player, then Penn State freshman edge Chaz Coleman is the guy. The Razorbacks struggled on defense last season, especially along the line.

Coleman proved exactly why it's important for athletes to be versatile and definitely need to play more than one sport. In high school he played quarterback, tight end, linebacker, and defensive end along with being a star on his basketball team.

In fact, Coleman got offers to play college basketball, they just didn't equal his football offers because everyone could clearly see where this was headed. This experience jumps off the screen.

Coleman loves to play back away from the offensive line. That's because his speed, quickness and footwork allow him to be there one second and then disappear like he teleported the next.

His spinning, cutting and ability to change directions screams big man with crazy basketball guard like skills that are enhanced by not having to hold onto a dribble. Half the time he doesn't even get touched by linemen.

In some cases that's a problem. He spins and cuts off the edge and shoots through the hole so fast that without the natural contact, Coleman pops out in a place that causes him to lose containment momentarily.

However, most of the time he's a human cheat code. One second he is in a tight end's grill on the edge, then he blasts off behind the defensive line probing for an opening and fires through hole like a linebacker on an unseen blitz, absolutely destroying whatever is going on in the backfield.

He is also in such great condition that his coaches have him completely change sides of the field after the blocking calls have been made. In a two-tight end set, he's aligned over the left tight end and just in time for the ball to be snapped, he's magically over the right tight end moving at full speed without a proper blocking scheme called to account for him.

He's probably headed to Virginia Tech, but if former Penn State coach James Franklin can't keep up financially in his new home, Silverfield is more than welcome to get into a bidding war with Ohio State for his services.

The money is going to get stupid, but, then again, we're talking about Arkansas going all in on a single player and then acting like normal, rational human beings with whatever's left of the money afterward. Meanwhile, every player who sets foot at Ohio State expects stupid level money, so perhaps the Buckeyes' need to go hard with every prospect sets the table for the Razorbacks to steal away just one.

Than again, Coleman is a 5-star and this is pretty much a fantasy scenario. The Hogs have had entire NIL budgets under Pittman at times that reportedly couldn't cover what Coleman may end up costing in the end.

Of course, there is one Arkansas booster sitting out there who refuses to play ball anymore when it comes to NIL because his ego doesn't get stroked enough. Yet, perhaps getting to be the one who swoops in and snatches a proven elite athlete like Coleman right out from under a deep pockets power program like Ohio State might be a big enough stroke to his own ego provided every Razorbacks fan gets to know it's because of him and he gets to have a little more say in a few things as a bit of a side dish.

Again, we're talking fantasy stuff at this point. So where does it get reasonable?

Carius Curne, OL
LSU

This is where the price tag gets what is considered in the NIL world "reasonable." An elite tackle in the portal can run anywhere from $750,000 to $1 million.

In Curne's case, he's coming off a freshman year where he often started for a blue blood SEC school. That means at least two more guaranteed years before he bolts for the NFL along with guaranteed quality strength and conditioning and high level coaching, which pretty much makes it a lock Curne's agent is going to want to push that number as close to that higher number as possible because they have the ultimate leverage.

Curne logged time against Louisiana Tech and Southeastern Louisiana before earning a starting role for a big run of SEC schools, including Arkansas with Western Kentucky thrown in the mix also. Arkansas fans would like to think Curne might give the Hogs a discount if he came, which would help put better talent around him, but to assume something like that is unfair to him.

If the Razorbacks get caught up in the idea that a talented offensive lineman should make less money just because he is playing for his home state, then the chance of landing him go way down.

Omarion Miller, WR
Colorado

Omarion Miller is a high 4-star Louisiana native who has had enough "Primetime" moments. He's looking for a place where he can be part of building a winner, and, in the Razorbacks' case, hopefully with a desire to be much closer to home.

Miller starred at North Caddo High School in Vivian, La., a town of roughly 3,000 on the Ark-La-Tex border. He originally committed to LSU, but when Bryan Kelly arrived in town with his fake accent and creepy dance party complete with revolving cameras, it was too much.

Thus, he went to Colorado in hopes of finding success under the guidance of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. After two years of trying to crack the code, it finally happened for him.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out so well for the team around him. Miller hauled in 45 catches for 808 yards and eight touchdowns. Meanwhile, his coach struggled with extreme health issues and the Buffaloes tumbled from 9-4 to 3-9.

Odds are with Kelly gone, Miller will want to return to LSU. There's a chance Lane Kiffin is a turn-off, but Miller has already shown an attraction to those deemed to have a certain level of odd swag about them.

It will be difficult to get into a bidding war with the Tigers, especially for an in-state player. However, there's still the chance of Arkansas going all in on a single player that would make it possible and this one is somewhat feasible.

There's also the chance that Kiffin's track record leaves him a little uneasy, but with just a couple of seasons left to play, that may not matter.

Tobi Osunsanmi, Edge
Kansas St.

Originally tabbed the Nigerian Nightmare out of high school, at 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, Tobi Osunsanmi certainly has SEC size despite biding his time over in the Big 12. The upside is he has much more game experience than Coleman and has finally developed into a grown man hungry to make his mark.

The bad side is Osunsanmi should only have one more season and limited time to further develop. If family is a concern, Wichita, Kan. is a relatively easy interstate filled drive to Fayetteville.

Truth be told, Osunsanmi will be a solid player. He will plug in and do his job, filling the stat sheet in about as boring of a way as possible along the way.

For a reasonable price, Arkansas can land a serviceable player who will get the job done, but simply isn't going to show up on the Razorback Football Twitter highlights that often on Saturdays.