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Podcast: HawgSports Live: An Arkansas Razorbacks Podcast Episode: WALK & TALK: Red 14, White 13 Transcript: What's up, everybody? Trey Biddie with Hawkes Force coming to you from Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas. First walk-and-talk of 2026, wrapping up the first spring under Ryan Silverfield. This one with a 13 win by the Red Team over the White. We'll talk about what happened in this game a little bit, obviously the quarterback competition and everything, but it's important to note that there were 14 other practices before this one, 13, 11, I should say, of which were open to the media. So I want to talk about some of the things that I saw after this roster building process, all the work that they did putting this together. There's 65 new players on scholarship on this roster alone, so we've got a lot to get to, probably going to be quite a walk-and-talk. As for what happened out here on the field today, probably give the edge to KJ Jackson in terms of quarterback competition, just because he did have a 65-yard throw to CJ Brown, probably 35 yards downfield. CJ Brown did the rest of it. And AJ led a couple of touchdown drives, but he also threw a pick six, probably 53 yards to Songinu. I think I got that name, right? Bear with me if I mess up on some names here and there. If I had to think about a name, there are a lot of players to get to. So probably give the edge to KJ a little bit. Did have some nice throws, picked it up a little bit more. I think with KJ, he's got to get more consistent. He'll be very accurate, and then he'll just kind of have some lapses here and there, and he's got to get more familiar with the offense, which AJ has a little bit of an advantage because he comes over from Memphis. AJ has got to get a little bit quicker on his throwing motion. He tends to dip the ballway downfield. He's got to get a little bit quicker on his throw down here, kind of like a baseball throw. It just creates this big looping throwing motion for all the stuff that Arkansas does with a short passing game. Throw in swing passes of the running backs, throwing screens, the RPO game. You got to be able to get the ball out quick. So that's something that he can work on. If it's just dropping back and slinging the ball, he's got a really big arm. It can really throw it. So anybody who knows stuff that I've talked about in this offseason knows that I've said, I wanted Arkansas to go out, probably have to spend two and a half million dollars to get a proven quarterback. I don't know that he did that. It's not possible. It's not possible. It's not possible. It's not possible. It's not possible. It's not possible. It's not possible. It's not possible. It's not possible. It's not possible. It's not possible. It's not possible. It's not it was a great transfer portal quarterback class, but you just never know what you have at quarterback until it's game time. You can think, you know, go through spring football, fall camp and everything and come out and think, oh, this is the guy, you know, he gets hurt in the backup comes in. You're like, whoa, this guy's a star. It happens all the time. I've mentioned like, Stetson Bennett, all the work that Georgia did to bring in somebody else to replace Stetson Bennett. He goes on and wins two national championships. Felipe Franks ended up at Arkansas because he got hurt and then Kyle Trash steps in. He's like, whoa, this guy's really good. So that stuff happens all the time. I was telling him to talk about Drew Bledso going down and Tom Brady coming in. It's his backup. So you just never know what you got. That's the thing that scares me the most because overall guys, I like this roster and it's important to remember and we've learned this over the years. Everybody else has access to the transfer portal. It's not just Arkansas. Everybody else is able to fill in depth and all that kind of stuff. It's going to come down to coaching, in-game decision making, penalties turnover, special teams, of course. Those are the factors that it comes down to. They do spend a lot of time working on special teams. They spend a lot of time on ball security work, probably more than I've ever seen in any coach that I've covered. The amount of ball security drills that this team does is a lot. So it'd be disappointing if they came out of this with the bad turnover margin. So that's good. Of course, in-game decision making is going to play a big role as well. Let's talk about some of the positions because we got a lot to get to. It's going to be a long walk and talk. It just is. We haven't done one this spring. We usually do one by now, but just the way things played out. So we talked about quarterback. It really is those two guys. Hank Henderson's coming in, but he's a junior in high school right now. So I wouldn't put too much pressure on him. Too much expectation. Hey, before we get to that, I'd like to tell you about our friends over at Sutherland's. Whether you're probably getting outside. Maybe you're looking at a zero turn mower or something like that. There's no where to put it. You don't have storage. You don't have shelter for it. So if you need that kind of stuff, then check out our friends over at Sutherland's because they've got all kinds of buildings. They've got barned dominions. They've got sheds. They've got workshops, barns, garages, just about everything that you could need. And there are four locations in Arkansas, so there's probably one pretty close to you. And also just know. Yeah. I'd set off the alarm. Also just know there are Arkansas people. A lot of them went to the University of Arkansas, even though they're based in Kansas City. So I know you're supporting Razorback fans when you support our folks over at Sutherland's. 1-800-66-Barns or Sutherland's.com. Running back. Saw some good things from the backs today. I like ham settles. More and more I see him. I think he had like seven carries for 57 yards or something. Had a nice touchdown run up the middle. He just kind of seems to see it. We didn't see Sutton Smith today run the ball. It just kind of worked out that way. Maybe it was through the RPOs and stuff like that. So that was disappointing because throughout the practices, the one areas that I really wanted to focus on in this game were running backs and linebackers. Because you just don't see a whole lot of live tackling unless it's like goal line type of work. And so I was looking forward to seeing that. But really like what I saw at a set of rails. Railing Russell ran the ball hard up the middle. I mean he's a load. Railing is really transformed his body. Still got to wait in the good parts. But you can see like his belly slider. You know he's he looks. I think that they have some guys at the skill spots like. You know those two guys I mentioned. You know Sutton Smith we can go up what we saw at Memphis. And you know Jasper Parker has some good runs today. You know TJ Hodges you can still see a little bit of the youth with him. There was a third one where you know he kind of hesitates instead of just hitting it and getting that first down. There was another time where he cuts the ball. It's outside. And you can see like hey split these defenders you know keep going vertical and he cuts it outside you know and there's no more yardage gain of course on this level you get tracked down by some of the speed in the SEC. So there were a couple of things like that he fell down on another play. But I do feel like that they have some good quality options. You also got Markelen batten running back. So I feel like you do have some good options at running back because there are a thousand yard back. I don't know. I mean the Jalen Russell stays healthy. I can see them you know mixing it up quite a bit just depending on the opponent. Y receivers disappointed to see Chris Marshall drop two third down passes today. Can't do that. That's that's supposed to be your big play guy. He knows that Antonio Jordan made two really great catches. Like it's going to be hard to keep Antonio Jordan off the field and he's listed as a 13 X right now behind Courtney Crutchfield who has transformed his body 20 pounds lighter than he was when he arrived. You can tell he's taking things real seriously. He had a 75 yard catch maybe last week on a slant. You know what, a short slant, but he just took it to the house. So I feel like they've got some off it. Those are all, those are all exits. I mean, you talk about some of the guys like C.J. Brown who is as K.J. described in the first guy in the gym, just seems to keep getting better. Had that big catch today. Just very consistent. This is getting better and better I think in the time that he's been here at Arkansas. So you've got him, you've got Jamari Hawkins who, I don't know if Hawkins had more than maybe a catch or something today, but he's a guy that obviously produced at Memphis. I mentioned Chris Marshall who's better than he showed today. And Ismail CC, I don't know if Ismail had a catch today, but as far as the guy that most consistently gets open, most consistently catches the ball when it's thrown his way. He's been very steady. We didn't get to CCC last year because of the wrist injury, but he's another guy that, and I feel like I keep betting Blair Urban and Dequein Prevo or some younger guys that have got a lot of potential also. And I'm probably leaving somebody, they don't even have Jalani Watkins here yet, who's still with the track team because he's super fast. He was a former four star recruit, went to LSU. You know, Donovan Faupell is another guy to keep an eye on, but they're probably going to end up with six. And I think it's going to be really hard to decide not only who their top six are, but maybe who your top three right now, like going into this game, like, well, maybe I would think about moving Courtney Crutchfield over to flanker. I've Chris Marshall in there and Ismail CC. Now I'm thinking like, how can you leave CJ Brown off your starting group because he's just been very consistent. You got a little thunder. I hope this isn't dangerous. I think this is plastic. So, thoughts at wide receiver, tied in maybe a little thin. I mean, you've got Maddox Lasseter and I'm spacing on Max, spacing on a name already. But more H-back types, full backs. And you've got Jaden Platt, who knows, Jaden Platt's a very good tied in. And I think Ty Lockwood might be. Ty Lockwood's a guy that started his career off at Alabama. You've got a lot of guys like that that played at big time programs that are maybe a little bit younger or playing behind other really talented guys. But Lockwood, if he can be a guy for them and they can go some of those two tight incest, that would be really beneficial. I think the offensive line as a whole has a chance to be comparable to what it was last year, which last year I thought they were an above average offensive line. All total. And I think they have a chance to be that. You got a couple of guys back from last year's team, obviously. You're bringing in Malachap, Brigalind. Bryant Williams was a really big get at right tackle. And then you're looking at Cave Umber Sord to step into that left tackle spot. I think they have a chance to be comfortable. Whether it's a little bit better or a little bit worse, I'm not sure yet. That's pretty much the offense, isn't it? They'll leave out any position groups. And they've got some guys behind those players, obviously. And then switching over to defensive side of the ball, really love this defensive line. I don't know. There's a superstar aside from Quincy, but when you look at, you got to avoid this camera crew here, so don't mess up their shot. But when you look at Quincy Rhodes, the guy who had eight sacks for him last year, you know, he's a future NFL player. Hunter Osborne, I've been very impressed with his knowledge of everything, but it's like you roll out one guy who's like, give or take 63315, one guy after another. You know, one guy after another. So you got Hunter Osborne. He started his career at Alabama, played a lot for Virginia, which was really good last year, probably their third defensive tackle at Virginia last year. You brought in Carl and Jones, who I like a lot. He'll be a red shirt sophomore this year. So last year is a red shirt freshman at USC, playing behind some really good, really talented players ahead of him. Is it Avian Sims? You brought him in from Oregon, who was a top 100 type of recruit, another four star guy, playing behind some really good guys at Oregon. You know, so it's just like Trajan Odom coming in from Ohio State. Was a four star recruit by some recruiting services. You know, those are some of the guys that you're brought into this program. And you also got, you know, Keondre Johnson and Caleb Bell and Reginald Vaughn guys that came back from last year. Trent Sellers, who's over at Jack, and we'll talk about Jack here in a second. You also got David Okey coming back. I mentioned Quincy Rhodes. You know, as far as some of the older guys coming back. And you've got Antonio Sandel Baskam, who I've seen it practice like physically. He looks like all of them. Like just again, 633. 315. And then we get into Danny Beale, who's 65348 or so. We'll probably help them in some maybe goal line type packages or something. And you got Anthony Kennedy. Like I can name nine guys on that defensive line who were former four star for Ospecs by at least one recruiting service, you know. And a lot of those guys maybe weren't highly regarded as transfer additions, but they were very highly regarded as recruits and are coming into that age where you start to see them make an impact. Quincy Rhodes, if you guys remember, did not make an impact really until last year when he was a junior. Charlie Collins moving over to that Jack position. Charlie Collins is hitting that age right now. You know, Charlie probably has had a better career to this point than Quincy did. But I feel like that Jack position is kind of custom built for him. You know, he's too tall and lanky for a linebacker, not heavy enough for an even front defensive end. But that's probably the most competitive spot on defense right now. Jomontay Waller, former top 100 type of guy from Auburn, Steven Soles, who may have had three sacks today. That's only like, hey, you had a sack today because now I didn't. I had three. It's like they're trying to protect the quarterbacks. I had three sacks. Love that attitude. He's a very explosive guy gets off it gets off the ball very fast. Once I add a little bit more weight, he's about 235 right now. Once you get up to about 245, but you've got him. You got Jomontay Waller. You got Charlie Collins and Trent Sellers probably a little bit behind them. But I couldn't tell you right now who I would start between those three. Maybe Steven Soles after today. So good competition at that spot and linebacker. You got Bradley Shaw who you draw up a middle linebacker. That's how they should look. Jekwavy and Smith out of Howard, probably the biggest surprise. Maybe he shouldn't have been a huge surprise because he comes from Howard, but he was also heavily recruited by Auburn and other teams and stuff. But he started every single practice that I was at. He was a starter at linebacker. You've also got white Simmons, Phoenix Jackson's finally healthy, Ben Bogle, Evans. You've got some potential there at linebacker. Safety concerns me because I know just through the transfer portal, it seemed like they kept missing on some of their top guys. They've shifted some things around. So, Camore House came in. I thought he was going to be a linebacker, but no, the whole plan was for him to be a star. That's where he was recruited originally out of high school by Ron Roberts, where they tried to recruit him the second time playing linebacker going to North Carolina, led them in tackles. But you know, it's 61205 and he's down weight a little bit. He's just a better fit for that nickel star position. I was originally concerned because they had Christian Harrison at star also. And I'm just thinking these are two of your, you know, these are easily two of your top 11 defensive players. You don't want them at the same position. You want to be on the field at same time. And eventually you start seeing Christian Harrison's safety. Okay, I like that a lot better because safety is an area that gives me a little bit of pause. Curie McGloor has seen a good bit of action there. He's a former cornerback who's 6-3 from West Georgia. He's played a lot there. They actually moved Carter Stoutmeyer who started at Safety for Colorado the last couple of years. They've moved him over to that star spot. He's right now backing up. Camore House. But I just wonder about safety a little bit. You've also got McGill Mitchell back. Hell, it couldn't be any worse than it was last year, I guess. I say that and, you know, I get surprised all the time and they are worse. But they do have Christian Harrison there. So he is a good player. And I think that they've done a better job at cornerback. Getting Joker Johnson in here who was very highly coveted out of the portal. A lot of teams wanted him. A lot of SEC teams wanted him. Like I Rowland's another good one from Maryland who started for them there. Braden Lee, we didn't see a whole lot because he's a little beat up this spring. But he played a lot for Maryland last year. DJ Harrison has probably been one of the surprise guys. Oh, I didn't mention TJ Lockett. TJ Lockett. Tay Lockett. Sorry. As far as freshmen go. And I'm hesitant to ever put a freshman safety on the field. I just, I don't ever see any good ones. They just, they end up being good players. Sure. But like freshmen, linebackers, freshmen, safety's, you know, hell, everybody on defense. You don't want to freshman defensive linemen in a lot of cases either unless they're 6, 5, 3, 48 like Danny Beale. But you know, Tay Lockett's been pretty good. But DJ Harrison seems to consistently be around the football. And they got Shelton Lewis also from Clemson who played a lot for Clemson last year, last couple of years. So all of that to say, I want to go back and circle around to what I said before, starting to get a little bit of rain. Want to circle around to what, around what we said before. Everybody in the SEC has access to the transfer portal. And it's important to recognize when we talk about like, yeah, they've got some depth here. They've got some good size. You know, last year they struggled to death lies. I think it's obvious also that they don't hit me. See me. I think it's obvious also just following them through the transfer portal. Those two chaotic weeks, well, it was really three weeks because it kept stretching on that they do have more money than they had last year. And that was, you know, with Sam Pittman, like we can talk about the end game decision making and some of the other issues that they had and maybe bringing in some of the wrong players, special on the defensive side of the ball last year. But they just, they did not have the same amount of money that they do this year. I think that was obviously the portal. So it's important to recognize that Auburn, South Carolina, everybody else has access to the transfer portal just like Arkansas. Everybody's building depth. It's going to come down to those important things in game decision making. Pimla, they turned over special teams culture that you build with this program, all that stuff and having a quarterback. And guys, like we can talk about what Arkansas's wind total prediction might be right now. I wouldn't say I'm not going to come out and say like, you know, even though I've said all this stuff, I'm not going to come out and say that they're going to be above 500 next year because I think the odds probably are that you don't just have this great quarterback coming out. And if you listen to a recent interview with guys, Kecrowley who did, I thought a really good job, you know, kind of leading the charge in assembling this roster as far as the GM standpoint goes. You got to have plus play at the quarterback position. You got to have an elite wide receiver. You got to have offensive line defensive line. That's what you have to have to win in this conference. And of course, when penalties are over special teams, we're getting inside just at the right time here. So it's impossible to predict even for the coaches, I think, I don't know that they're going to know what they have a quarterback. But I think that they put themselves in a good position from the personnel that they put around the quarterback right now. So that's my thoughts on it. Appreciate everybody following along with us. Be sure to check out Sutherland's our friends over at Sutherland's 1 866 Barnes. Sutherland's dot com get a free quote. You know, you want to barn to medium. You've always everybody wants a barn to medium. Everybody kind of like man, I don't know, it'd be cool though, wouldn't it? It would. So you should at least check it out. And if you're going to do it, go to Southern ones to do it. Four locations in Arkansas. Arkansas fans, good people, Mark, Bo, gang over there. All right. Anything else we forgot to cover. So my hand is, I don't know what I did the way I was trying to hold this because it's got this reflective thing on it. It's completely numb. Fingers feel like wood, a night of the seven kingdoms. All right. That's it. I think I covered everything except for special teams and didn't say a whole lot. Connor Smith blew out his knee. It was probably going to be their punter. Maxi Govett seems like he'll be fine. But again, it's kind of like quarterback. You just don't know to get him out there. He was. I don't. Anyway, we just missed the rain. But thanks for joining me everybody. I'll probably get you another walk and talk here soon. I know we went too far. That's too long a time to go without a walk and talk. But we have done more shows. So check it. All right, everybody. Appreciate you joining me. It's been Trey Biddie with hollocksforce.com. We'll catch you next time. Show notes: The Walk & Talk is back! Join HawgSports.com's Trey Biddy as he exits Razorback Stadium with his thoughts and opinions on the Red-White Game and 2026 spring practices under head coach Ryan Silverfield. audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices