Eric Mateos sends message to Razorback Nation
Following reports that he will not be retained by new Arkansas head coach Ryan Silverfield, Eric Mateos sent a message to Razorback Nation via X on Sunday.
“I’ve had a blast being back home at Arkansas and showing my girls where it all started for me,” he said. “Coming back here was personal and the mission was to remind the SEC what Arkansas OL play looks like! Much love to the players, my colleagues, and all the gritty fans that the Hog represents.”
It was a forgettable fall on The Hill as the Hogs finished winless and dead last in SEC play for the third time in eight seasons, but Mateos’ offensive line was one of the very few bright spots of the squad. PFSN College rated Arkansas’ offensive trench unit as the best in the country during the regular season with grade of 92.4. Those five across the front helped the Hogs total 454.8 yards and 32.9 points per game, which rounded out the top five in the SEC.
ALSO READ: Arkansas reportedly hiring former Division I head coach as special teams coordinator
The offensive line also paved the way for Arkansas’ first 1,000-yard rusher since 2022 as Mike Washington Jr. finished fourth in the league with 1,068 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 6.4 yards per carry.
Mateos, an Overland Park (Kan.) native, started his Division I coaching career at Arkansas from 2013-15 during the Brett Bielema era as a graduate assistant for then o-line coach Sam Pittman. From there, he was a GA at LSU for a year prior to stints at Texas State (2017-18), BYU (2019-20) and Baylor (2021-23) before returning to Fayetteville prior to the 2024 season.
Subscribe to HawgBeat now for just $1 that also includes complete access to On3 and Rivals national content, plus a year’s subscription to The Athletic. Visit our homepage for more in-depth Razorback coverage and tap into the Trough premium message board for daily intel and discussion.
