ESPN tabs Arkansas as SEC’s biggest portal winner in terms of experience

The Razorbacks didn’t just dip into the transfer portal this offseason — they dove in headfirst. According to a report from Saturday Down South citing ESPN’s Max Olson, Arkansas added more experience from the portal than any other team in the SEC heading into 2025.

Per the numbers, the Hogs reeled in 31 players with a combined 253 career starts and 18,356 total snaps. That haul puts Arkansas first in the SEC and 15th nationally when measuring programs by incoming experience.

They weren’t the only SEC squad to load up:

• Ole Miss landed 29 former starters with 263 career starts.
• Kentucky checked in at 19th nationally, adding 24 former starters with 256 career starts.

The question, of course, isn’t whether Sam Pittman’s roster looks deeper on paper — it’s whether all that experience gels into wins on Saturdays.

Arkansas is coming off a stretch where roster stability has been hard to find. The portal influx gives them battle-tested bodies across the board, but the SEC West isn’t forgiving. Meanwhile, Ole Miss and Kentucky are also banking on veteran transfers to plug holes and push them over the top.

As Saturday Down South notes, the portal has revolutionized roster building in the SEC. The Razorbacks may have stockpiled the most experience in the league, but whether that translates into actual success remains the ultimate test.