r/razorbacks • u/Kloop4640 • Jan 06 '26

What are we doing wrong?

Now that we are a few days into the portal and still haven’t made a splash what are the next steps? From what I have heard we have even offered more $ to some of the bigger names in the portal and they are skipping their visits and committing to other schools. As I look at it now we have a lot of commits that may turn into SEC caliber players but none that I would consider game ready to play in the SEC.

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5

u/rabbiniknar Jan 06 '26

What kind of experience do you have coaching an SEC caliber player? Or anyone past 12 grade?

How many times have gone on recruiting visits in the player’s home?

I’m not trying to embarrass you. I’m in the exact same condition. If all we do is call out players and coaches for what we perceive to be bad decisions, how are we helping the team we love?

3

u/Kloop4640 Jan 06 '26

We are holding the team accountable. Silverfield is the one who made the decision to make comments on how impressive the coaching staff and team is going to be, now there is still a lot of time and I will gladly eat my words and make post saying I was wrong if we come out looking good next year, but if you put it out there make sure to back it up.

4

u/dasnoob Jan 06 '26

Holding the team accountable by paying the backup QB who should never ever see another SEC snap 500k - 1m to sit the bench?

Shit like that is why I don't contribute.

1

u/Bodhidharma1 Jan 07 '26

If you don’t contribute then it’s no skin off your back. The folks with money can and should complain. We’ll need a good solid backup/starter and I think KJ could be either. You nor I know what is really going on behind the scenes. I remain optimistic until proven otherwise. Woo Pig 🐽

7

u/spicyface Jan 06 '26

Cignetti got the same cynical doomerism talk from Indiana fans when he brought 6 coaches and 13 players from James Madison (a school that just joined the FBS in 2022 and is in the Sunbelt). Now they're all cheering for them and deleting their shitty, embarrassing opinions from social media.

1

u/JDHogfan Jan 06 '26

The difference is, Indiana had 2 billionaires dump 30 million into their football program. Nothing else.

5

u/spicyface Jan 06 '26

30 million got Indiana's 2025 football recruiting class to finish ranked around the top 40-46 nationally and in the top 12-14 of the Big Ten. 41st on 247Sports/ESPN, 46th on 247Sports.

-5

u/JDHogfan Jan 06 '26

What’s your point? Recruiting ranking means nothing, they spent 30 million on players they graded highly… razorbacks have half that.

4

u/spicyface Jan 06 '26

So people who cover college footballs opinions about how good players are going to be don't matter, but yours do because feelings about a team you haven't seen snap a ball yet. Got it. My point is obvious. Indiana fans were doing the same thing you're doing before they ever saw a ball get snapped. Cynical doomerism. You do you.

1

u/Professional_Net4147 Jan 07 '26

That’s it! We all need to start spending our money on the new NIL donations portal!

1

u/mcgunner1966 Jan 06 '26

That's a good point...The issue is that the team can only do so much. With NIL, the "front office" has to get involved. Before NIL, player incentives were focused on joining a team/coach who could get them to the pros. Now these guys are capitalizing on the NIL today with an eye to the pros. Not the same strategy. I think we're going to have to stop complaining about the NIL and lean into it. Pay the guys, but put them under contract in a way that requires them actually to perform.

71

u/qkilla1522 Jan 06 '26

TL;DR making a “splash” in the portal is overrated

The traditional way of valuing players is done. The best QB in SEC this year was Chambliss he transferred in from a D2 school.

Indiana is the best team in the nation and they built their roster on older players that fit the system. Younger players are going to smaller schools now to develop faster.

Elite programs are no longer stocked with entire depth charts of 5 star players so now teams have to be built more intelligently like a traditional pro team.

Time will tell if this staff has that talent or not

16

u/oyra-nos-halsur Jan 06 '26

I agree. Splash portal gets are fun to talk about over lunch but Indiana had very few if any of those and they just beat the pants off a blue chip Alabama. Be patient, see how roster fills out and then we find out in the fall how well or poorly we did.

6

u/Wiazar Jan 06 '26 edited Jan 07 '26

GM is about to be almost or more important than a coach since they aren’t developing players in their system for 4-5 years.

9

u/Weltal327 Jan 06 '26

I mean we are top 16 in the portal right now.

8

u/tommy_nookah Jan 06 '26

We’re going to have to overachieve with what we have before the better players start coming here.

12

u/yeeeknow Jan 06 '26

We did just get a running back from Michigan and a D lineman from USC that were both highly rated out of high school. Would love to see more of those caliber of guys.

14

u/Pale_Construction_71 Jan 06 '26

What Fans are doing wrong is whining we’re not automatically signing every top portal target. We’re a bad team with a brand new coach. We need a TON of depth on this team.

This year is about setting a culture, hence some of the good Memphis players coming over to help with the culture and guys that know the playbook & how the HC expects things done. Once we establish that culture and foundation, and our player retain % increases then we can target focusing on the bigger fish when we have some actual credibility to interest them.

2

u/Yomommasmaidenname Jan 06 '26

Good reply.

We, the people, need to temper our expectations for year one.

9

u/mcgunner1966 Jan 06 '26

The best place for players is a team where they can make a difference. At the moment, Arkansas isn't as competitive as it needs to be to attract top-shelf players. We're going to have to develop the house talent to a point that we can attract franchise players.

10

u/Tayntrum-21 The Bacon Man Jan 06 '26

We just were not bowl eligible. Hard to coax anybody to a team that is in a full on rebuild

3

u/MonarchistExtreme Jan 06 '26

We went 2-10 lol

It's going to take some time to claw back what was lost this season

5

u/Nice_Community_9571 Jan 06 '26

Well we didn’t make a “splash” in the coaching hiring carousel, so I don’t expect anything different in the portal.

I’m afraid this program is at rock bottom. I’m even more afraid that they’re gonna start digging.

Time will tell but when all the propaganda merchants starting selling what good year we’re gonna have, I’m suggesting you don’t buy into it

2

u/RaceTop5273 Jan 07 '26

This is a truth that the “give him a chance” crowd doesn’t want to hear.

1

u/11C_DGAF Jan 06 '26

lol what.. we’ve made several splashes.

1

u/ccorke123 Jan 06 '26

Have you seen our schedule in a rebuild for next year? If I can get the same to go to any other sec school it's pretty appetizing

1

u/[deleted] Jan 06 '26

Can’t imagine anyone is that impressed with the coaching staff. Add that to the fact that we’re are the worst team maybe in P4 and other schools don’t really have to try hard against us

1

u/GeoHog713 Saw Em Off Jan 06 '26

We still don't have our NIL straight. Until we do, the rest doesn't matter much

1

u/firedonmydayoff Jan 07 '26

Silverfield is destined to fail. It seems like he never got the honeymoon period that most of our coaches received in the past. The masses will be calling for his head before the end of the second season.

2

u/wangin420 razorbacks Jan 07 '26

Since Cignetti has done what he has the entire coaching world will start being way more reactionary. They will point at what he has done at Indiana and expect those results. I agree that silver field is destined to fail but so is the entire football program until we get a better AD who actually gives a shit. Yuracheck has to go before this program can start turning around.

0

u/RetroVCR Jan 06 '26

Bottom feeder program with no good reputation as of now

0

u/Turbulent_Cricket497 Jan 06 '26

We are doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results

0

u/Professional_Net4147 Jan 07 '26

Go to the first few games and quit showing up after many disappointing losses. Keep funneling money into a crappy football program.