FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Razorbacks will have a much different looking secondary than they did in 2024 when the Hogs finished toward the bottom of the FBS in pass coverage.
Arkansas has a few promising young players such as Selman Bridges, the former 4-star safety who signed during the 2024 cycle. He is the type of defensive back co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson.
Bridges is long at 6-foot-3, 180-pounds with the ability to impose physicality on outside receivers and even use his speed over the top as a safety.
“You know what, I’m seeing growth because he’s still a freshman, you know,” defensive coordinator Travis Williams said April 10. “Just seeing him going through his second spring ball and seeing growth, seeing him being developed, seeing him taking coaching and taking his game to another level. And that’s a good thing. All of our guys that are freshmen cannot be the same as when they first got here. So Just to see him grow is a good thing, to see him growing.”
Should he continue growing, Bridges ought to crack the defensive rotation going into his sophomore season after being touted as the No. 13 overall cornerback prospect in his class. He’ll have to battle it out during fall practice as Arkansas brings in several new transfers in the secondary including Stanford cornerback Julian Neal, who joined the team as the No. 4 available.
Yeah, I like Neal,” Pittman said April 25. “Neal’s a good-looking kid. Big, can run. I thought we did a really good job of recruiting him and I like him. Obviously, we brought him in thinking he can play for us immediately.”
