FAYETTEVILLE — The coaching staff of new University of Arkansas football Coach Ryan Silverfield began to take shape on a busy Friday.

Silverfield moved to keep some of his offensive staff at Memphis together and targeted a veteran Power Four defensive coach to serve as coordinator, based on national reports.

CBS Sports reporter Matt Zenitz reported Silverfield will bring offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey, receivers coach Larry Smith and offensive analyst Nick Mathews over from Memphis. Meanwhile, outgoing Florida defensive coordinator Ron Roberts emerged as a strong candidate to fill that position for the Razorbacks.

Zenitz also reported Silverfield has honed in on Florida State assistant coach David Johnson to be his running backs coach.

Silverfield is reportedly working with a salary pool for assistant coaches that UA Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said would push Arkansas into the top half of the SEC.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Silverfield on Thursday, Yurachek said the first indicator of the program’s enhanced financial commitment will come via Silverfield’s staff hirings.

“I think when you look at what the staff looks like, the support staff as well, and then the players that become a part of this program, that will show you the financial commitment we’ve made to our football program,” Yurachek said.

Silverfield, who said he would bring aboard coaches with SEC experience, was asked at the same news conference about the key characteristics he wanted in his assistant coaches.

“I always value experience, and I think that’s important, but most importantly, great coaches and great leaders of men,” Silverfield said.

“We’re going to find coaches that are going to truly pour into these guys. And they may think it’s corny, but I’m going to tell them like, these guys are going to love them. They’re going to hold them accountable, OK, to everything these guys say they want to do, and they’re going to make sure they achieve exactly what we say we’re putting out there.”

Cramsey, 50, played quarterback and long snapper at New Hampshire in the mid-1990s and has been coaching since 2001, the last four years at Memphis. His offenses with the Tigers all ranked in the top 25 in scoring with at least 34 points per game and were between 14th and 38th in total offense since 2022.

Cramsey had previously been offensive coordinator at New Hampshire (2009-11), Florida International (2012), Montana State (2013-15), Nevada (2016), Sam Houston State (2017) and Marshall (2018-21) before joining Silverfield’s staff.

Smith, a former quarterback at Vanderbilt with 27 career starts, joined Silverfield at Memphis in 2023 after seven years as receivers coach at Alabama-Birmingham. He helped develop first-team All-American Conference receiver Cortez Braham Jr. this season.

Mathews, a senior analyst assisting with quarterbacks at Memphis, has previous experience at Arkansas, having served as an assistant defensive backs coach under Sam Pittman.

Roberts was deeply involved in Pittman’s search for a defensive coordinator for the 2023 season, but he joined up with Hugh Freeze at Auburn while the Razorbacks turned to Travis Williams.

Roberts, 58, has spent the last six seasons as a Power Four defensive coordinator at Baylor (2020-22), Auburn (2023) and Florida (2024-25), including the past two seasons as executive head coach with Billy Napier.

Auburn ranked No. 45 in the FBS in total defense in 2023 by allowing 357.2 yards per game, No. 41 in scoring defense (22.6) and No. 76 in rushing defense (155.0).

Florida ranked No. 76 in total defense in 2024, allowing 376.9 yards per game, and No. 66 against the run (149.5). The Gators are No. 69 in total defense this season (376.8), No. 74 against the run (153.9) and No. 73 in passing yards allowed (222.9).

Johnson, 52, has roots in southern Louisiana as a two-time all-conference wide receiver at Nicholls State and a high school head coach who had former LSU All-American running back Leonard Fournette. Johnson has been running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Florida State since 2020.

Prior to that he worked two seasons at Tennessee as wide receivers coach (2018) and running backs coach (2019), and served two seasons at Memphis (2016-17) as receivers coach and passing game coordinator. His first major college coaching experience came at Tulane from 2012-15 as running backs and tight end coach.

Zenitz had previously reported Silverfield planned to bring General Manager Scott Gasper and strength and conditioning coach Noah Franklin over from his Memphis staff.

Who: #25/23 Arkansas Razorbacks (6-2, 0-0 SEC) vs Fresno State Bulldogs (6-3, 0-0 MW)
What: Arkansas makes its annual trip to Simmons Bank Arena.
When: Saturday – Dec. 6 – 3:00 pm (CT)
Where: North Little Rock, Ark. • Simmons Bank Arena  (18,000)
How (to follow):
– TV/Stream: SEC Network Plus/Watch ESPN (Brett Dolan and Joe Kleine)
– Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
– Sirius/XM: Sirius: 160 || XM: 192 || SXM App/Online Channel 962

– Arkansas Live Stats
– Razorback Gameday App
– Purchase Tickets

– Arkansas Game Notes   
– Fresno State Game Notes
– SEC Men’s Basketball Release/Stats

FAYETTEVILLE – For the 26th time since its opening in 1999-2000, Arkansas will play in North Little Rock’s Simmons Bank Arena when the #25/23 Razorbacks face Fresno State on Saturday (Dec. 6). Tipoff is set for 3 pm and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network Plus.

Arkansas is 15-10 in Simmons Bank Arena and 19-10 all-time in the city of North Little Rock. Last year, Arkansas defeated Central Arkansas, 82-57, in Simmons Bank Arena. The Razorbacks have played in NLR in 21 of the last 23 years, with a 20-year streak of playing in North Little Rock snapped in Dec. 2020 due to COVID. The only other year Arkansas did not play in NLR was the 2000-01 season.

After Fresno State, Arkansas will stay on the road to face #19 Texas Tech in Dallas on Dec. 13 (Sat.).

NOTES:

• Arkansas and Fresno State have met on two previous occasions and the Razorbacks won both.
• The first meeting was Nov. 29, 1997, in Phoenix. Arkansas upset the #12 Bulldogs, 70-69, in the Premier Classic. With Fresno State down one with four seconds left, Demetrius Porter’s shot in the lane as the buzzer sounded rattled around the rim but didn’t fall. Nick Davis led the Hogs with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Kareem Reid and Pat Bradley combined for 11 assists – 6 from Reid and 5 from Bradley – Bradley added four steals. Arkansas was just 4-of-20 from 3-point range but forced 24 turnovers. The Bulldogs were led by Avondre Jones’s 23 points and 14 rebounds while Rafer Alston added eight assists and Tremaine Fowkles had 14 rebounds.
• The second meeting was Nov. 17, 2017, in Fayetteville. Arkansas won, 83-75 as Daniel Gafford came off the bench to score 25 points with eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Jaylen Barford added 18 points and Anton Beard 15. Bryson Williams led the Bulldogs with 22 points and nine board while Jaron Hopkins had nine points and 10 boards. Neither team was particularly good at the line, but Arkansas was 25-of-38 compared to 131-of-22 for Fresno State.
• With an 89-80 victory over #6 Louisville on Wednesday, Arkansas improved to 3-0 in the three-year ACC/SEC Challenge. In the three years of the Challenge, the SEC leads 30-16, thanks to a 14-2 record last season and a 9-7 mark in 2025. The leagues tied, 8-8, in year one of the series.
• After its 89-80 win over #6 Louisville, Arkansas climbed 12 spots in the NCAA NET, going from #45 to #33.
• Arkansas and its opponents have both made 67 3-pointers. However, Arkansas has only attempted 190 (35.3%) and its opponents have attempted 230 (29.1%).

For more­­ information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook.

Christmas is arriving in style at the Arkansas State Capitol this Saturday, with a festive lighting ceremony set to dazzle and delight. Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester shared the exciting details: “It’s going to start at 5:30 this Saturday, and basically, once it gets dark, we’ll have a ceremony, we’ll have live music, we’ll have people, we might get a couple thousand people come.” The event promises to be a heartwarming experience, especially for the children at Arkansas Children’s Hospital who can see the lights from their windows.

The ceremony will feature live music, including a performance by Hannah Banks, a talented musician and lawyer, who will sing unless her baby arrives early. The evening will culminate in a spectacular fireworks display, followed by the grand lighting of the Capitol.

Visitors can enjoy the festive atmosphere throughout the holiday season, with opportunities to take family photos by the iconic Christmas tree and explore the Capitol’s holiday decorations, including a tree honoring fallen veterans. Jester emphasized the importance of the event, saying, “Times can feel dark, but that’s not all there is. There is hope that comes in the morning. There is joy, and when someone walks away with a piece from our state capitol, that’s what they should feel.”

For those not able to make it to the lighting ceremony, they can still visit the Capitol during its open hours to see the decorations, the trees, Santa’s Workshop, and more.

No tickets or RSVPs are required, so families can decide to attend at the last minute. After the festivities, attendees are encouraged to explore downtown for dinner, making it a full day of holiday cheer.