We’re only one week into the 2026-27 Razorback football season, but coach Ryan Silverfield may already regret not retaining the services of former offensive line coach Eric Mateos.
After a 2-10 season, it’s natural for a new coach to come in and clean house. However, if there was one bright spot on last year’s staff, it was Mateos.
The former Arkansas grad assistant came back to lead the Hogs’ offensive line throughout the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Under his tutelage, the group was consistently one of the strongest units on the team.
To put that in perspective, even through a tumultuous losing season, Pro Football Network considered his line the second best in the country at one point.
The most important metric that went into that? The Hogs averaged 5.7 yards per carry, which led to 191.9 rushing yards per game.
Due to speculated stylistic differences, Silverfield decided not to retain Mateos (who now coaches the same group at Wisconsin). Instead, he brought in his former offensive line coach at Memphis, Jeff Myers, and Ohio State assistant offensive line coach, Marcus Johnson, to co-run the unit.
Eric Mateos and Ryan Silverfield have different backgrounds and seem to prefer different attributes when it comes to OL, so I sort of understand letting Mateos go
— Adam Ford (@AdamFord92) December 7, 2025
But that makes this OL coach hire essential. Needs to be the best coach on the staff, honestly
After the way the Hogs ran the ball last weekend against North Alabama, the Hogs seem to desperately miss the type of trench play fans had grown accustomed to under Mateos.
Arkansas’ offensive line play against North Alabama left much to be desired
Saturday against North Alabama, Arkansas showed a clear intention to establish the run. While the effort was commendable, running backs Sutton Smith and Braylen Russell consistently ran into brick walls.
Before the day was over, Arkansas had 49 rushing attempts that netted 148 yards. Overall, they averaged only 3.0 yards per carry.
Over and over, the interior offensive line struggled to get push. A spark would light, only to be extinguished by yellow laundry tossed on the field.
Of course, it didn’t help that UNA was stacking the box and daring quarterback K.J. Jackson to make a play. But even when the offense was able to develop the semblance of a rhythm, causing the UNA defense to back off a bit, there were no running lanes for the talented running backs.
Outside of the rushing woes, tackles Bryant Williams and Kavion Broussard Jr. struggled in pass protection, causing Jackson some happy feet in the pocket. Despite these struggles, Silverfield says there are no plans to shake up the line.
WATCH - Silverfield sticking with his offensive line - Ryan Silverfield says he's not considering any changes to the offensive line after Arkansas's opening win against North Alabama. #arkansas #razorbacks #wps pic.twitter.com/j30P9GjTSu
— Trey Biddy (@TreyBiddy) September 6, 2026
The Big Picture
We might look back and realize this was one big overreaction. Myers and Johnson could earn their paychecks and get this group playing to an elite level. We’ll know soon enough – in fact, we’ll get a pretty good idea this Saturday against a strong Utah squad.
However, if Wisconsin sees the type of improvement with their line that the Hogs experienced, it will be an even tougher pill to swallow that Mateos was allowed to walk. For a program full of regrets and “what-ifs,” it would be nice not to add another one.
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