Ryan Silverfield isn’t wasting any time putting his stamp on the Arkansas Razorbacks. Less than a week after being hired away from Memphis, the new Hogs head coach is already making moves to bring familiar faces to Fayetteville. He’s raiding his old staff and targeting proven coordinators to turn around a program that’s been searching for consistency in the brutal SEC.​

Arkansas is expected to hire Memphis wide receivers coach Larry Smith, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports. Smith, who was a starting quarterback at Vanderbilt during his playing days, has been coaching receivers for nearly a decade. He is coming off three straight years of producing first-team all-conference wideouts at Memphis. 

It’s a bit unusual, though. Smith played quarterback in college but has spent his entire coaching career developing wide receivers. After starting his coaching journey as a quarterbacks coach at Jacksonville State from 2013 to 2015, Smith made the switch to coaching receivers and never looked back. He spent seven seasons at UAB from 2016 to 2022, coaching wideouts before Silverfield brought him to Memphis in 2023. 

In his two years with the Tigers, Smith helped Memphis rank sixth nationally in scoring offense at 39.4 points per game. He was consistently churning out all-conference talent at the receiver position. It’s a bit unusual for a former QB to become a decorated receivers coach. But in the SEC, results matter more than what position you played. And if Smith can do what he did at Memphis, he’s all set.

Arkansas is also targeting Ron Roberts for its defensive coordinator job, per Zenitz. Roberts is a 30-year coaching veteran who most recently served as Florida’s executive head coach, co-defensive coordinator, and linebackers coach in 2024. He spent the 2023 season as Auburn’s defensive coordinator. 

At Auburn, Roberts led a defense that ranked in the top 50 nationally in scoring defense, sacks, tackles-for-loss, and total defense while finishing No. 1 in the SEC in red zone defense. Before that, he spent three years at Baylor under Dave Aranda, where his defense led the Big 12 in run defense and turnovers gained in 2021. Roberts also has head coaching experience, going 89-45 in 11 seasons at Delta State and Southeastern Louisiana.​

The hires signal that Ryan Silverfield is building Arkansas around coaches he knows and trusts while also targeting proven SEC experience on the defensive side. Bringing Smith over makes sense. They’ve worked together at Memphis, and Smith has shown he can develop talent even in a Group of Five program. Adding Roberts would give the Razorbacks a defensive coordinator who’s already navigated the SEC trenches. Ryan Silverfield is betting that this combination can help Arkansas compete in one of college football’s toughest conferences.

Silverfield brings his offensive architect to Fayetteville

The Arkansas offensive overhaul is now complete. According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, the Razorbacks are hiring Memphis offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey. Cramsey has been Ryan Silverfield’s right-hand man on offense for the past four years, and the results speak for themselves. Memphis has ranked in the top 25 nationally in scoring in each of those four seasons. Both Cramsey and wide receivers coach Larry Smith are now headed to Fayetteville. Silverfield is essentially transplanting the entire Memphis offensive brain trust to the SEC.

Bringing Cramsey makes perfect sense when you look at the bigger picture. Memphis averaged 35+ points per game in 2023 and 2024. And Cramsey was the play-caller, making it happen. Now he gets to take that system and run it with SEC-level talent in Fayetteville. 

The continuity between Cramsey and Smith should make the offensive transition smoother. Arkansas fans have to be encouraged that their new head coach isn’t reinventing the wheel. He’s bringing a proven formula that’s already worked. The question now is whether that Memphis magic can translate to the brutal week-in, week-out grind of SEC football.

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