What Tennessee Football Coach Josh Heupel Said About Arkansas Coach Ryan Silverfield

What Tennessee Volunteers football coach Josh Heupel had to say about first year Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield.

Apr 25, 2026; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Ryan Silverfield looks over his players during warmups before the spring game at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Tennessee Volunteers are inching closer to the 2026 college football season as the Vols have just wrapped up SEC Media Day. There were many quality topics discussed by Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel, including arguably the most underrated topic of the day: the Vols taking on new SEC head football coach Ryan Silverfield and the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Silverfield is a former head football coach for the Memphis Tigers, but after experiencing plenty of success in the Group of 5, he opted to make a move up to the Razorbacks. He will have a tough schedule, including a matchup against someone he is familiar with. That matchup is against former UCF Knights head football coach and current Tennessee Vols head football coach Josh Heupel. The Vols played against Arkansas a season ago and were victorious, but in this go-around things will look entirely different.

Here is what Josh Heupel had to say about the Razorbacks' new coach and the job that he is taking on.

Josh Heupel Talks Ryan Silverfield

Jul 20, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Yeah, Ryan has done a really good job when he was at Memphis, when I was at UCF, I had familiarity with him, and then, you know, his track record, since I've left there, you know, he's got familiarity in a footprint, you know, smart organized, and this guy has guys to play at a really high level," head football coach Josh Heupel stated when talking about taking on a new brand of Arkansas football in the 2026 college football season.

The Vols and the Razorbacks play on October 10th, and it will be a game that takes place in Razorback country.

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