FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas football will begin fall camp on Wednesday, Aug. 5, and all eyes will be on the quarterback battle between KJ Jackson and AJ Hill.
But there will be starting spots up for grabs across the field, and competitions for snaps as backups will be fierce as Ryan Silverfield prepares for his first season as the Razorbacks coach. On Monday, Aug. 3, Silverfield met with the local media to preview fall camp, and he shared the three position groups he is most excited to evaluate over the next four weeks leading into the season opener against North Alabama.
Unsurprisingly, Silverfield is focused on the trenches, highlighting both of the offensive and defensive lines. He’s also eager to get his eyes on the wide receivers who will be tasked with producing explosive plays along with whichever quarterback lands the starting gig.
“Some of those other guys in the wide receiver position, like, okay, can we have eight starters? You know, and that’s not a terrible thing,” Silverfield said. “Do we have some guys that can step up?”
The Arkansas coach highlighted Boise State transfer Chris Marshall as someone he wants to assume a big role for the Hogs’ offense. He also mentioned Donovan Faupel (New Mexico State) and CJ Brown as older players with past production who will be fighting for snaps.
Arkansas will also have two additional wide receivers this fall in track athletes Jelani Watkins and Maurice Gleaton Jr. Watkins ran track for Arkansas this past spring, while Gleaton is a new addition who recently transferred from Georgia.
Along the offensive line, Silverfield is confident with his interior. Left guard Malachi Breland, center Caden Kitler and right guard Kobe Branham are experienced and cemented in their starting roles.
But he said the tackle position could have some competition this fall, unlike in the spring when left tackle Kavion Broussard and right tackle Bryant Williams gobbled up most of the snaps with the first-team offense. Josiah Clemons, Terence Roberson Jr. and Adam Hawkes are players Silverfield wants to challenge Broussard and Williams.
“I think the good news is that we feel comfortable with some of those guys, but my guess is, you know, after the first 10 days if everybody stays healthy, we’ll be able to move forward and fight and figure out who our starters are there,” Silverfield said.
The defensive line is wide open. Quincy Rhodes is the star and primed for an important role. Inside, Hunter Osborne (Virginia) and David Oke will begin fall camp as the starters at defensive tackle, but the surrounding pieces are mostly unknowns.
Names that Silverfield mentioned on Monday as exciting pieces to watch were transfers Carlon Jones (Southern California) and Xadavien Sims (Oregon). He also said there’s a hope that true freshman Danny Beale III cracks the rotation.
“Some of these other guys have played some football, and then ultimately, what does that look like with the young guys behind them,” he said.
Will latest court ruling translate to roster additions?
Late last week, U.S. District Court of Colorado Judge Charlotte Sweeney issued an injunction against the NCAA allowing all class of 2022 athletes a fifth-year of eligibility.
Silverfield didn’t rule out adding some experience to his roster based off this ruling, but he also did not guarantee it. He said he is working closely with his compliance department to determine what the Hogs’ options are as they close in on the regular season.
“If they say we’re not sure right now and this can continue to get dragged out through August and there’s back-and-forth, we’ll just stay put and continue to pour into the guys we have,” Silverfield said. “If it makes sense to add someone, we will.”
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: 3 key Arkansas football position battles, according to Ryan Silverfield
