Talking season kicks off for the Southeastern Conference on Monday at SEC Media Days at the JW Marriott in Tampa, Florida, with the Arkansas Razorbacks taking their turn July 23.
Offensive lineman Caden Kitler, defensive lineman Quincy Rhodes Jr. and running back Sutton Smith will accompany first-year head coach Ryan Silverfield.
Rhodes Jr. enters the 2026 season as one of the top defensive linemen in the SEC, earning preseason all-league praise from Athlon Sports and Phil Steele. The North Little Rock, Arkansas, native is coming off a breakout junior season in 2025, tallying 44 total tackles with a team-leading 15.5 tackles for loss, along with eight sacks, six quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. His 15.5 tackles for loss were the most by an Arkansas defender since Trey Flowers’ 15.5 in 2015. He also became the first Hog to register double-digit tackles for loss in a season since Landon Jackson’s 13.5 in 2023, and the first Razorback to record three multi-sack games in a season since Tre Williams in 2021. Rhodes finished the regular season ranked 13th nationally and second in the SEC in tackles for loss per game (1.23), and 23rd nationally in sacks per game (0.67). Against Mississippi State on Nov. 1, he tallied six tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble — one of just three Power 4 defenders to register 4.5 tackles for loss in a single game last season, and the most by an Arkansas defender in a game since 2005.
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Kitler returns for his redshirt senior season after starting all 11 games he played in a year ago on the Razorbacks’ offensive line. The Colony, Texas, native helped pave the way for six games of 500-plus yards of total offense. Behind Kitler’s blocking, Arkansas saw a 119-yard improvement in total rushing yards, highlighted by senior running back Mike Washington Jr. becoming the first 1,000-yard rusher for Arkansas since Raheim “Rocket” Sanders rushed for 1,443 yards in 2022. Kitler and the Hogs allowed 29 sacks last season, the fewest by an Arkansas team since 2019, and didn’t allow a sack in either the Arkansas State or Ole Miss games — the first time since 2015 Arkansas went without a sack allowed in consecutive games.
Smith arrives in Fayetteville after four years at Memphis playing under Silverfield. As a redshirt junior in 2025, Smith appeared in 12 games, rushing for 669 yards and seven touchdowns on 102 carries, while adding 20 receptions for 109 yards, 155 yards on five kick returns and 125 yards on 15 punt returns for 1,058 total yards. He posted three 100-yard rushing games, including a career-high 147 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries against Arkansas on Sept. 20 — a game Smith won with a 64-yard touchdown run with 4:51 left. He also rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries against Troy on Sept. 13, and closed his season with 109 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries against East Carolina on Nov. 15. The Powder Springs, Georgia, product also returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown Oct. 18 at UAB. Smith tied for ninth nationally in rushing plays of 60-plus yards last season and is one of just 14 returning FBS running backs with an 80-plus-yard rush in 2025.
Silverfield, who will make his debut at SEC Media Days, spent the last six seasons as head coach at Memphis, going 50-25 with a pair of 10-plus-win seasons in 2023 and 2024. The Tigers reached bowl eligibility in all six years under Silverfield, and Memphis posted 29 wins over his final three seasons — ranking among the nation’s top 15 programs in victories over that stretch. Arkansas opens the season against North Alabama on Sept. 5 at 3:15 p.m. inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
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