June 6, 2018: It was announced that former Arkansas tight end Will Gragg had transferred to
Pittsburgh, with two years of immediate eligibility remaining.[2]
June 8, 2018: Arkansas wide receiver Kofi Boateng announced his retirement from football following two knee injuries.[3]
July 10, 2018: The Arkansas athletic department released the design of the 2018 uniform, which featured small tweaks from the past few years. These changes included the elimination of matte-finish helmets in favor of a glossier "pearl cardinal" finish, removal of details on the jersey to "de-clutter" the chest area, and a new stripe design on the pants.[4]
July 20, 2018: The SEC media poll was released, and placed the Razorbacks last out of the seven teams in the SEC West. The Hogs received 412 votes, 166 shy of sixth-place Ole Miss.[5]
July 21, 2018: The Razorbacks had three players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams. The second-team offense featured OL
Hjalte Froholdt, and the third-team defense featured LB
De'Jon Harris and DB Santos Ramirez.[6]
The 2018 Arkansas Red–White Spring Football Game took place at War Memorial Stadium in
Little Rock, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. CT on April 7.[13][14] It was broadcast on the
SEC Network.[15] The white team consisted of the offense and the red team consisted of the defense.
The spring game followed a different format: the game was played in twelve minute quarters, rather than fifteen, with a running clock in the second half. The game was scored traditionally on offense (white team), but the defense (red team) could earn points for a variety of achievements (6 pts. for touchdown, 3 for turnover or 4th down stop, 2 for three-and-out, 2 for blocked kick, 1 for sack or TFL).[16]
Chad Morris, former head coach at
Southern Methodist University, was hired on December 6, 2017, to be the 33rd head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks,[49] following the dismissal of
Bret Bielema just under two weeks prior.[50] On January 9, 2018,
Joe Craddock was named offensive coordinator,[51] and
John Chavis was named defensive coordinator.[52] Both had previously served the same roles at SMU and
Texas A&M, respectively.
Barry Lunney Jr., the tight ends coach, and John Scott Jr., a defensive line coach, were the only two assistants retained, and will enter their sixth and second seasons, respectively, in their current positions with the Razorbacks.
Prior to the season, Coach Chad Morris announced that permanent captains would not be announced until later in the season, and the captain spots would rotate until then.
Coach Morris named
Hjalte Froholdt, Jared Cornelius, Santos Ramirez,
De'Jon Harris, and
Dre Greenlaw team captains for Arkansas' first game.
Cole Kelley was named the starting quarterback, though Ty Storey played the majority of the game, throwing three touchdown passes. With the victory, Arkansas improved to 98–23–4 all-time in season openers, with Chad Morris becoming the eighth consecutive Razorback head coach to win their first game at Arkansas.[58] This game also gave Arkansas a 6–0 record against current
OVC members, their last win coming in
2015 against
UT Martin.
Coach Morris named Michael Taylor II,
Armon Watts, Brian Wallace, and Jeremy Patton as the captains for Arkansas' second game. The pregame depth charts named both
Cole Kelley and Ty Storey as starting quarterbacks, though Storey started the game and played the entire first half. However, he was replaced by Kelley for the second half after throwing two interceptions. The loss dropped the Razorbacks to 14–2 against current
MWC opponents, with the last contest, in
2011, resulting in an Arkansas win over
New Mexico.[59]
For Arkansas' third game, Coach Morris named Jonathan Nance, McTelvin Agim, Deion Malone, and Nate Dalton as captains. For the second straight game, the pregame depth chart listed both Kelley and Storey as starting quarterbacks; Kelley ultimately got the start and played into the third quarter before being replaced by freshman Connor Noland, who shared the remaining drives with freshman John Stephen Jones. The loss dropped Arkansas to 54–30 against current
C–USA opponents, 10–1 since joining the SEC.
Coach Morris named
Randy Ramsey, Jared Cornelius,
Hjalte Froholdt, and Santos Ramirez to be captains for Arkansas' fourth game. For the first time this season, Ty Storey was named the sole starting quarterback; he played the entire game, save for a few snaps given to Kelley.
Prior to Arkansas' fifth game, Chad Morris named the permanent captains for the remainder of the season: Santos Ramirez,
Hjalte Froholdt,
Dre Greenlaw, and
De'Jon Harris. For the second game in a row, Ty Storey was named the starting quarterback.
For the third consecutive game, pregame depth charts listed Ty Storey as Arkansas' starting quarterback. This was Arkansas' 24th matchup against an
AP No. 1 team; the loss dropped them to 4–20. Additionally, Cheyenne O'Grady became only the 3rd SEC player to score two receiving touchdowns in one half against a
Nick Saban–led Alabama team.
For the fourth time in the last five years, the Razorbacks faced a non–
P5 opponent for their
homecoming game. After Ty Storey was injured against Ole Miss, freshman Connor Noland was named the starter. Noland played into the third quarter until he was injured on a hit and momentarily replaced by Cole Kelley. He and Kelley shared the remainder of the snaps in the game.
^Journal, Logan Lowery Daily.
"MSU fires Moorhead after two seasons". Daily Journal. All eight of Moorhead's victories in 2018 had to be vacated after 10 football players were reprimanded by the NCAA for academic misconduct involving a former part-time tutor and an online chemistry class.
June 6, 2018: It was announced that former Arkansas tight end Will Gragg had transferred to
Pittsburgh, with two years of immediate eligibility remaining.[2]
June 8, 2018: Arkansas wide receiver Kofi Boateng announced his retirement from football following two knee injuries.[3]
July 10, 2018: The Arkansas athletic department released the design of the 2018 uniform, which featured small tweaks from the past few years. These changes included the elimination of matte-finish helmets in favor of a glossier "pearl cardinal" finish, removal of details on the jersey to "de-clutter" the chest area, and a new stripe design on the pants.[4]
July 20, 2018: The SEC media poll was released, and placed the Razorbacks last out of the seven teams in the SEC West. The Hogs received 412 votes, 166 shy of sixth-place Ole Miss.[5]
July 21, 2018: The Razorbacks had three players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams. The second-team offense featured OL
Hjalte Froholdt, and the third-team defense featured LB
De'Jon Harris and DB Santos Ramirez.[6]
The 2018 Arkansas Red–White Spring Football Game took place at War Memorial Stadium in
Little Rock, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. CT on April 7.[13][14] It was broadcast on the
SEC Network.[15] The white team consisted of the offense and the red team consisted of the defense.
The spring game followed a different format: the game was played in twelve minute quarters, rather than fifteen, with a running clock in the second half. The game was scored traditionally on offense (white team), but the defense (red team) could earn points for a variety of achievements (6 pts. for touchdown, 3 for turnover or 4th down stop, 2 for three-and-out, 2 for blocked kick, 1 for sack or TFL).[16]
Chad Morris, former head coach at
Southern Methodist University, was hired on December 6, 2017, to be the 33rd head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks,[49] following the dismissal of
Bret Bielema just under two weeks prior.[50] On January 9, 2018,
Joe Craddock was named offensive coordinator,[51] and
John Chavis was named defensive coordinator.[52] Both had previously served the same roles at SMU and
Texas A&M, respectively.
Barry Lunney Jr., the tight ends coach, and John Scott Jr., a defensive line coach, were the only two assistants retained, and will enter their sixth and second seasons, respectively, in their current positions with the Razorbacks.
Prior to the season, Coach Chad Morris announced that permanent captains would not be announced until later in the season, and the captain spots would rotate until then.
Coach Morris named
Hjalte Froholdt, Jared Cornelius, Santos Ramirez,
De'Jon Harris, and
Dre Greenlaw team captains for Arkansas' first game.
Cole Kelley was named the starting quarterback, though Ty Storey played the majority of the game, throwing three touchdown passes. With the victory, Arkansas improved to 98–23–4 all-time in season openers, with Chad Morris becoming the eighth consecutive Razorback head coach to win their first game at Arkansas.[58] This game also gave Arkansas a 6–0 record against current
OVC members, their last win coming in
2015 against
UT Martin.
Coach Morris named Michael Taylor II,
Armon Watts, Brian Wallace, and Jeremy Patton as the captains for Arkansas' second game. The pregame depth charts named both
Cole Kelley and Ty Storey as starting quarterbacks, though Storey started the game and played the entire first half. However, he was replaced by Kelley for the second half after throwing two interceptions. The loss dropped the Razorbacks to 14–2 against current
MWC opponents, with the last contest, in
2011, resulting in an Arkansas win over
New Mexico.[59]
For Arkansas' third game, Coach Morris named Jonathan Nance, McTelvin Agim, Deion Malone, and Nate Dalton as captains. For the second straight game, the pregame depth chart listed both Kelley and Storey as starting quarterbacks; Kelley ultimately got the start and played into the third quarter before being replaced by freshman Connor Noland, who shared the remaining drives with freshman John Stephen Jones. The loss dropped Arkansas to 54–30 against current
C–USA opponents, 10–1 since joining the SEC.
Coach Morris named
Randy Ramsey, Jared Cornelius,
Hjalte Froholdt, and Santos Ramirez to be captains for Arkansas' fourth game. For the first time this season, Ty Storey was named the sole starting quarterback; he played the entire game, save for a few snaps given to Kelley.
Prior to Arkansas' fifth game, Chad Morris named the permanent captains for the remainder of the season: Santos Ramirez,
Hjalte Froholdt,
Dre Greenlaw, and
De'Jon Harris. For the second game in a row, Ty Storey was named the starting quarterback.
For the third consecutive game, pregame depth charts listed Ty Storey as Arkansas' starting quarterback. This was Arkansas' 24th matchup against an
AP No. 1 team; the loss dropped them to 4–20. Additionally, Cheyenne O'Grady became only the 3rd SEC player to score two receiving touchdowns in one half against a
Nick Saban–led Alabama team.
For the fourth time in the last five years, the Razorbacks faced a non–
P5 opponent for their
homecoming game. After Ty Storey was injured against Ole Miss, freshman Connor Noland was named the starter. Noland played into the third quarter until he was injured on a hit and momentarily replaced by Cole Kelley. He and Kelley shared the remainder of the snaps in the game.
^Journal, Logan Lowery Daily.
"MSU fires Moorhead after two seasons". Daily Journal. All eight of Moorhead's victories in 2018 had to be vacated after 10 football players were reprimanded by the NCAA for academic misconduct involving a former part-time tutor and an online chemistry class.