photo credit: Craven Whitlow
FAYETTEVILLE — Only one received much attention, but Arkansas actually held out two players late last season in order to preserve their redshirts.
While Patrick Kutas hit the transfer portal immediately following a regular season in which he appeared in just four games, Miguel Mitchell did what the offensive lineman said he was going to do and stuck with the Razorbacks.
He was rewarded with a big-time showing in the Liberty Bowl, when he came down with an interception and posted a 79.4 PFF grade on a team-high 68 snaps, and is now primed to have a significant role on the defense in 2025.
Through 11 practices in fall camp, Mitchell has seemingly asserted himself as one of Arkansas’ two starting safeties. A major key to that has been a football IQ that defensive coordinator Travis Williams described as “off the charts.”
“It comes natural to him,” Williams said. “He can make every check, he can judge the ball. … We got a couple of defenses in where he is just (reading) off the quarterback and he has a really good knack for just finding the ball.”
The fact Mitchell is in this position is a bit remarkable in today’s college football climate. In fact, given how his season unfolded, most fans probably would have expected him to be more likely to transfer than Kutas.
Not only had he already hit the portal once before, using it to go from Florida to Arkansas, but the Oxford, Ala., native didn’t play the first half of the 2024 campaign because of an unspecified suspension that head coach Sam Pittman revealed in November.
When he was finally eligible, Mitchell was immediately thrust into the rotation. He played 15 snaps against LSU, 34 against Mississippi State and 20 against Ole Miss before emerging as a starter following the bye week and playing 61 of 73 snaps against Texas.
“It’s easy to lose the mental focus within the day-to-day routine when you’re not actually playing on Saturday, but he was always engaged, always helping out the younger guys,” co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson said. “Because of his involvement at that point when he wasn’t playing, he understands what we’re doing just as well as myself.”
Even though the staff liked him on the field, they talked it over with Mitchell and both sides agreed it’d be best to redshirt him, so he didn’t play in the Louisiana Tech or Missouri games in later November despite dressing out and going through pregame warmups. With bowl games not counting toward eligibility, he returned to action against Texas Tech.
Not long after that breakout performance, secondary coach Deron Wilson left the team to become the defensive coordinator at Georgia State. Wilson has since been hired as a defensive backs coach at Florida, where he had previously served as a quality control coach. That stint with the Gators in 2022 was the main reason Mitchell chose to play with the Razorbacks, as he was a freshman in Gainesville that year.
The departure of a trusted assistant coach who’d been a main recruiter, coupled with the suspension, redshirt and showcase performance in the bowl game, would typically be ingredients for a transfer — much more so than a guy who said he was all Hog and claimed to hate the school at which he ultimately ended up.
However, it doesn’t sound like Mitchell, who’s grown tight with Williams and Woodson, ever really considered leaving.
It helps that Mitchell had an in with Williams thanks to fellow Oxford High alum K.J. Britt, who played for the Arkansas defensive coordinator when he was the linebackers coach at Auburn. They were five years apart, with Britt graduating in 2017 and Mitchell coming through in 2022, but still communicated when the latter was looking for a new home.
“I always knew about T-Will and his energy,” Mitchell said. “I talked to KJ about him, and just everybody checked off.”
Staying loyal to the Razorbacks means Mitchell — along with fellow returnee Larry Worth III — provides a veteran presence in a mostly new-look secondary. Last year’s redshirt lets him do the same in 2026.
Mitchell has improved in his man coverage and eye discipline, though, so the coaches are focused on him being a critical piece of the defense in 2025.
“(He has) that it-factor that you can’t coach,” Woodson said. “He’s a coach on the field and once he’s done playing football, I told him Lord willing, if I’m a head coach, he’s going to be my defensive backs coach. He’s that type of player.”
For the second straight day, the Razorbacks were in “shells” – which is essentially everything except knee pads. It wasn’t as nice as Tuesday, but the weather was still decent Wednesday. Temperatures started out in the 70s before creeping into the 80s by the end of practice.
Reporters were allowed to watch the first four periods, or about 20-30 minutes. One of the periods was the typical “fastball starts,” where the 1s, 2s and 3s each got four reps against their counterparts in traditional 11-on-11 team action. The other three periods were individual drills, with the offense remaining inside Walker Pavilion and defense going outside to the turf practice field.
It seems as though defensive tackle Ian Geffrard has a bad habit of not running to the ball. Coaches got on the 387-pound redshirt sophomore about that during fastball starts on Tuesday and then he struggled with it during a drill with the defensive tackles specifically designed to work on that during Wednesday’s practice. The second time defensive line coach Deke Adams got on him, he made Geffrard repeat the drill.
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Order of Appearance
Here is how the offense and defense appeared during the “fastball starts” period. Please note that this is not a true depth chart, as the coaches are known to mix things up during this period. However, it is the only team period reporters get to see.
Offense
POSFirstSecondThirdQBTaylen GreenKJ JacksonTrever JacksonRBBraylen RussellRodney HillMarkeylin BattonTERohan JonesAndreas Paaske
Jaden PlattJeremiah Beck Jr.WRO’Mega BlakeCourtney CrutchfieldJa’Kayden FergusonWRJalen BrownAntonio JordanAndy JeanSLOTMonte HarrisonN/AKrosse JohnsonLTCorey RobinsonKavion BroussardAaron SmithLGFernando CarmonaBlake CherryLJ PrudhommeCCaden KitlerKash CourtneyBrooks EdmonsonRGKobe BranhamKeyshawn BlackstockMarcus DumervilRTE’Marion HarrisShaq McRoyBubba Craig
Defense
POSFirstSecondThirdDEPhillip LeeJustus BooneKen TalleyDTCam BallDavid OkeReginald VaughnDTIan GeffrardDanny SailiKevin OatisDEQuincy Rhodes Jr.Charlie CollinsFrank MulipolaLBStephen DixWyatt SimmonsAndrew HarrisLBBradley ShawTrent WhalenTavion WallaceNBLarry Worth IIIShakur SmallsCade FieldsCBKani WalkerSelman BridgesLandon PhippsSCaleb WoodenAhkhari JohnsonAnton PierceSMiguel MitchellQuentavius ScandrettJJ SheltonCBJaheim SingletaryKeshawn DavilaNigel Pringle
Post-Practice Interviews
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More coverage of Arkansas football and fall camp from BoAS…