What Ryan Silverfield said on Arkansas position battles at center, running back

FAYETTEVILLE — Two individual positions took up large portions of Arkansas football coach Ryan Silverfield’s weekly press conference on Monday, Oct. 12.

It’s become unclear who will start at center and which running back deserves the most playing time as the Razorbacks (2-4, 0-3 SEC) get ready for a road trip to face Vanderbilt (3-3, 0-3).

Sophomore Kash Courtney replaced Caden Kitler at center for the second half of the Hogs’ 24-17 loss to Tennessee. Arkansas ran for 129 yards on 21 carries across the final two quarters and scored all 17 points with Courtney on the field.

Kitler, who Silverfield said is playing through an injury, is a captain and one of the most experienced players on the roster. The Arkansas coach was “quite pleased” with Courtney after watching the film on Sunday.

However, Silverfield declined to reveal any change in the depth chart.

“We understand it’s (Kitler’s) senior year, and you’re battling, you’re tough. But if someone gives us the best opportunity when healthy, to play, you know, certainly that’s what we’ve got to do in the best interest of the team,” Silverfield said. “Both are capable of being starting centers in the SEC and so we’ll see moving forward.”

Silverfield also shared that Kitler and Courtney have both taken reps at guard during practices if the coaches wanted to play them together. However, he did not indicate a major makeover was in store for the Arkansas offensive line.

Running back was the other position to come under the microscope, with questions arising about Arkansas’ rotation featuring Sutton Smith, Braylen Russell and Cam Settles.

During Arkansas’ two scoring drives, Settle and Russell combined for 44 rushing yards on five carries.

They combined for three total carries on the Hogs’ final four drives. Russell’s only rush after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter went for 29 yards, but it was called back due to a penalty.

“I think all three running backs had some decent things that occurred, and I think just where we found ourselves situationally in that game was at the point where we needed to be,” Silverfield said.

Smith had four carries for three yards during the final four drives. He received the most consistent playing time, but he is averaging the fewest yards per carry among the trio.

Smith followed SIlverfield from Memphis, took Darren McFadden’s fabled No. 5 jersey and was supposed to be a big-play threat for Arkansas. It hasn’t materialized as Smith has recorded 166 rushing yards through six games.

That leads the team, but he’s getting more work than Settles (131 yards, 32 carries) and Russell (154 yards, 44 carries). The latter’s usage remains puzzling, as Russell is only averaging 5.4 carries over the last five weeks.

“Braylen’s got to continue to be a complete back,” Silverfield said. “Love him, obviously. We’re going to continue to talk to him about running with better pad-level. Continue to do things right. He’s found his nook in doing some different things, but sometimes when everybody’s not blocked, continue to be a physical runner.”

For now, Arkansas feels like it has a bruising back in Russell, an explosive threat in Smith and a do-it-all option in Settles.

But Silverfield failed to ride Settles and Russell when they found momentum against Tennessee. Whether it’s causation or coincidence, Arkansas’ offense also fell back into a shell when Smith became the primary ball-carrier.

Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: What Ryan Silverfield said on Arkansas position battles at center, running back