Silverfield's Not Into Excuse Making When It Come to Razorbacks' Program

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — First-year Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield continues to make his rounds on the media scene this offseason to discuss where his program is at after taking over in November.

He takes over one of the hardest jobs in the SEC and is aware of the challenges in front of him, which weren't enough to scare him off after all. The 28-year coaching veteran has plenty of experience and a whole lot of wins to go along with it.

Since Silverfield started his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at UCF in 2006, he has been on just one staff that finished with a losing record. That lone losing campaign came in his very first year but he's enjoyed an upward trajectory ever since.

For the past 10 years, including six as the head coach across the Mississippi River at Memphis, he's had about as good of a birds eye view of the Hogs' struggles over the past three years as anyone.

That didn't do any damage to his outlook on the job either.

Instead, he saw the bigger picture of what can be accomplished in Northwest Arkansas with multiple Fortune 500 companies within 20 minutes of the Arkansas campus.

Those untapped resources could be more than available now, and some have alreay begun to reap major benefits. However, he there are some hands left to shake before he feels the Razorbacks are ready to compete for SEC Championships.

"That was one of the things that was so attractive about this place," Silverfield said."Like everybody, every SEC school has a set donor base and people that are involved. There's some great corporations, right? We have the Walmart logo on the field, the Tyson Chicken logo on our our field, but then now you're seeing the Tyson [Food] jersey patch [placed on the shoulder].

"It's my job, and I told everybody like when I get here it's to how do we maximize and and tap into those opportunities and those resources. Because you're exactly right, what sets us apart from some of these other SEC schools is we've got a donor base, just like everybody else, and we're really good in basketball, baseball, golf. I mean, like name it, track and field."

There's not resentment, not a single excuse made to deter the focus from the job at hand. SIlverfield is using the game of catch up as something to look forward to.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield talks to his team after the spring game at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

He wants to be competitve and it's a major motivating factor for him to make sure Arkansas returns back to its pre-2012 form.

"Then, how do we get some of that money directed at football," Silverfield said. "I've been out, I've been shaking hands meeting donors. Not just that but now going 'Hey, how do we get these corporations involved?' And I think that's part of it and and I'm making headway."

When it comes to this year's team, the old country saying, 'It is what it is' resonates with him. There's nowhere to hide and it is what it is. Whether his team ends up being a solid group or one continuing to climb an uphill battle, this is a challenge he is more than willing to take on this fall.

Silverfield was able to flip a group of talented in-state prospects in the 2026 recruiting class, but he knows it will take more talent just to get his Arkansas program turned around.

"Listen, everybody talks about the NIL for the 2026 roster, it is what it is, right," Silverfield said. "Like I got here and I had three weeks, [which is] not enough time to go raise enough money. So we are trying to build this thing so there's long-term stability.

"At my previous stop, we were able to be pretty stable for a long time. A lot of that was due to getting FedEx on board and their backing. So it's my job here and so many people are very excited. They're interested in saying, 'Okay, how can we make this thing go?' But, we know there's some more people, got to keep knocking on doors and see what we can get out of this thing."

Having the Tyson Food group's backing looms large, but once he gets other major corprations on board, and he starts winning at a larger clip the funds are going to funnel in quickly. That's especially true if Silverfield can figure out a way to get the most out a roster that is slightly behind most middle-of-the-pack SEC teams in terms of talent.

But, there is hope and that's all there is to sell right now.

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