FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - After finishing the 2025 season without giving up a single sack, former Louisiana starting offensive tackle Bryant Williams entered the transfer portal and the rest is history.
He acquired plenty of opportunities elsewhere, including a visit to South Carolina before arriving to Arkansas. Fortunately for the Razorbacks, that's all it took for the 6-foot-7, 335 pound lineman to make a decision on his future.
Coming out of Lake Charles, La., Williams fielded FBS scholarship offers from Louisiana, Colorado and Tulane before making a decision to play for his home state school nearby.
While with the Ragin' Cajuns, he played in 36 career games while starting 14 of those contests, graded out as the team's top offensive lineman with a scored of at least a 90% or better in seven games in 2024.
Arkansas Razorbacks offensive lineman Bryant Williams lines up at right tackle ahead of a snap during the Red-White Spring Game. | Bryant Williams, Instagra
His strength and athleticism is something the new Razorbacks' staff liked about him as he competed along the defensive line and threw shot put in high school.
Playing along the line of scrimmage in the SEC presents a challenge for players who have a future in the NFL, and Williams certainly possesses the frame and consistency to hear his name called in the draft next spring.
"Obviously, the first thing that comes to everybody's mind was size when it comes to that position," Arkansas offensive line coach Marcus Johnson said April 8. "Obviously Bryant is a big young man, so that was the first thing that took place. Not only that, but his skill set and his ability, his length to play out on the edge was something we took notice to.
"Even with him on his side of things, he knew that there was a need at tackle here at that time. He saw an opportunity for him to get out on the field, and not only get out on the field, but to compete in this league, in my opinion the highest level in college football. So, on both sides, there was a mutual interest amongst each other. I think that was how we got the young man here."
While neither of Arkansas' current or previous coaching staff had recruiting ties to Williams before entering the transfer portal, there was fandom included in the whole deal, according to co-offensive line coach Jeff Myers.
"It shocked me when we got him and his old man on campus. He had followed the Razorbacks even as a youngster," Myers said. "He's from Lafayette, Louisiana, and the Hogs are who he watched growing up, it wasn't LSU . So I think there was a real interest from him that went deeper than the opportunity here as well for him."
What excites both Johnson and Myers about Williams is the things you can't teach, believing he can secure the edges for Arkansas' offense. Having a foundation, proof of development and success at Memphis gave them the edge when recruiting him out of the portal.
Arkansas Razorbacks offensive lineman Bryant Williams goes through blocking drills during spring practice. | Razorback Football, Instagra
"On top of all of his intangibles, he's played a lot of football too, he's got a lot of experience," Myers continued. "I thought that was important with who we brought into that position, the immediate need. It was easy for us to talk to him on not only coming here and furthering your development at this point in his career, the next step as well, playing in the NFL.
"[We were] able to show him I had a 6-foot-8, 6-foot-9 tackle [Travis Burke] at Memphis last season who we had for one year, and he's looking like a Day 2 pick and advanced himself in a really short amount of time. It was more holistic where it's like, 'Man, you can do this in the weight room, and this fundamentally, if we clean you up, and then in our system, and how it translates to the next level.'"
How Williams' skills translate to the field will be tested pretty early this fall with a Week Two road trip to Utah with a defense known for making plays in opposing backfields. If he grades out well against the pass rush while demonstrating the ability to clear paths in the run game.
New coach Ryan Silverfield a little pin-and-pull, counter action for his offenses, which could bring Williams off the edge to barrel himself through defenses in a physical rushing attack. Should he gain that confidence out west, the Razorbacks return home the next week by hosting Georgia, which presents him the biggest test of his college career.
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No. 8 Hunter Osborne
No. 9 Caden Kitler
No. 10 Jaden Platt
No. 11 CJ Brown
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No. 14 KJ Jackson
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No. 16 Steven Soles
No. 17 Jamari Hawkins
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No. 20: David Oke
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/arkansas as Arkansas Football's Most Important Players for 2026: No. 6, Bryant Williams .
