Arkansas to honor Darren McFadden with unique, innovative jersey patch

One of the best SEC running backs of the mid-2000s will have a new honor bestowed during the 2025 season. Arkansas revealed Tuesday that former running back Darren McFadden will have a custom jersey patch adorning the No. 5 uniforms of the current players on the team.

The jersey patch will feature the initials ‘DM’ and a signature silhouette of McFadden. McFadden was one of the most electrifying players in the country — and in Arkansas school history — during his time in college.

“Since 2005, our entire state has associated the No. 5 with Darren McFadden,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek said in a press release. “Our fans’ memories of watching No. 5 race down the sideline, run through an SEC secondary or him ‘bringing dat wood’ will never be forgotten.”

Darren McFadden burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2005. He earned Freshman All-America honors, as well as SEC Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-SEC honors.

It was only up from there. By the time he was finished, McFadden had run for 4,590 yards and a school record 41 touchdowns.

“By creating this patch and putting it on the jerseys of our current players wearing No. 5, everyone who watches the Arkansas Razorbacks will be reminded of Darren’s greatness,” Yurachek said. “His legacy lives on at the University of Arkansas and this patch will serve as proof of that legacy every time we take the field.”

As a sophomore at Arkansas, Darren McFadden won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back. He finished as the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting. Bottom line: He was as elite as they come.

Now Arkansas will celebrate McFadden on a weekly basis. But the jersey patch is just the start.

Darren McFadden’s No. 5 number will also join the two retired numbers of Clyde Scott (12) and Brandon Burlsworth (77) on display inside Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. His number will be unveiled during Arkansas’ game vs. Texas A&M on October 18.

Preseason All-SEC senior defensive tackle Cam Ball and freshman wide receiver Ja’Kayden Ferguson will wear No. 5 for the Razorbacks this season. Both players will don the McFadden patch on their jerseys starting in the Hogs’ season-opener vs. Alabama A&M on August 30.