Franklin, Myers, Smith join Arkansas staff
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas head coach Ryan Silverfield has added three more coaches to his initial staff with familiar faces Noah Franklin named the Head Strength and Conditioning coach, Jeff Myers tabbed the Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line coach and Larry Smith set to lead the Razorbacks’ wide receivers. All three coaches worked for Silverfield at Memphis.
Franklin rejoins Silverfield’s staff after eight seasons with the Tigers, including the last six as the Director of Athletic Performance. He originally joined the Tigers’ staff in 2012 as a graduate assistant working with the team’s offensive line before moving into a full-time role as an assistant strength and conditioning coach.
He joined the Oakland Raiders’ staff in 2014. With the Raiders, he worked on the creation of player workouts and programming while also leading the development and implantation of workouts for the team’s practice squad.
Franklin was an offensive lineman at Oklahoma State, earning his degree in December of 2010. He spent time in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions before beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant at ULM.
He and his wife, Taylor, have two children – a son, Max, and a daughter, Hailey.
Myers coached at Memphis for three seasons, earning the title of running game coordinator in 2024. His offensive lines were an integral part of the Tigers’ success on offense, including three-straight seasons ranking in the Top 20 nationally in scoring offense. His offensive line protected at an elite level when the Tigers won 21 games combined in 2023 and 2024 as one of just 18 teams in the country to allow fewer than 20 sacks in consecutive seasons, giving up 19 during the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
This past season, Myers’ offensive line was anchored by First-Team All-American Conference lineman Travis Burke. Burke and his fellow linemen paved the way for a Tigers’ offense that averaged 420.7 yards per game while averaging 34.6 points per game. The running game was key for Memphis with 186.1 yards per game, including 77 runs of 10+ yards.
The 2024 Tigers won 11 games, capped by a Frisco Bowl victory over West Virginia, and were led by an offense that averaged a league-best 35.7 points per game. Tackle Xavier Hill earned first-team honors from the league’s coaches with guard Jonah Gambill and center Trent Holler picking up third-team recognition.
Myers’ first offensive line at Memphis paved the way for an offense that ranked sixth nationally in scoring (39.4 ppg), 10th in passing offense (306.5 ypg) and 14th in total offense (458.5 ypg). Memphis finished off the program’s fifth 10-win season with a 36-26 win over Iowa State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
Before joining the Tigers’ staff, Myers spent seven seasons at Iowa State, the last five as the Cyclones’ offensive line coach. The Iowa State offense during his tenure were among the best in school history. Seven of his offensive linemen earned All-Big 12 honors during his time leading the unit. Julian Good-Jones (2019), Colin Newell (2020) and Trevor Downing (2021) were all named First-Team All-Big 12 while Downing was named a Freshman All-American by The Athletic in 2019 and Darrell Simmons in 2020.
The Cyclones’ offense in 2020 was elite in leading the squad to a first-place finish in the Big 12, making the Big 12 championship game and qualifying for a New Year’s Six bowl for the first time in school history – a 24-17 win over Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.
Iowa State broke the school record for total offense (444.3) and posted the third-best scoring offense (32.2) in program history in 2019 and followed it up with the second-best scoring offense (32.9) and third-best total offense (436.3) totals in Cyclone history in 2020.
In 2019, Myers was named to 247Sports 30Under30 list as one of the profession’s young, rising stars.
He began his coaching career in 2015 as a graduate assistant at Toledo before heading to Iowa State as a graduate assistant during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
Myers played at Toledo, graduating in 2014. The Massillon, Ohio native was a three-year starter on the offensive line for the Rockets, starting 38 consecutive games. He earned All-MAC honors twice and was named team captain in 2014 when Toledo went 9-4 with a GoDaddy Bowl win capping the season.
Myers and his wife, Lauren, have one daughter, Kalani.
Smith spent the last three seasons as the wide receivers coach on Silverfield’s Memphis staff after joining the Tigers from UAB.
The Tigers’ receiving corps was led by transfer Cortez Braham Jr. in 2025. Braham Jr. earned First-Team All-American Conference honors after leading the team with 63 receptions for 889 yards and eight touchdowns. Memphis’ top four pass catchers all came from Smith’s room with Braham Jr., Jamari Hawkins (34 catches, 591 yards), Marcello Bussey (24, 253) and Brady Kluse (21, 230) combining for nearly 70% of the Tigers’ receiving yards.
Memphis posted the program’s second consecutive 10-win season in 2024, going 11-2 with a Frisco Bowl win over West Virginia. Roc Taylor led the Tigers and ranked second in the American Conference with 950 yards to earn first-team all-conference honors. Taylor teamed up with Demeer Blankumsee (45 catches, 677 yards) and Koby Drake (39, 484) to form one of the best receiving trios in the league with all three ranking in the Top 25 for receptions and yards.
Taylor picked up Second-Team All-American Conference honors in 2023 thanks to a 1,000-yard season. He caught 69 passes for 1,083 yards and four touchdowns before finishing the season 20th in FBS with 83.3 yards per game. The Memphis offense was explosive, ranking sixth nationally in scoring (39.4 ppg), 10th in passing yards per game (306.5), 14th in total offense (458.5) and 17th in both passing efficiency (154.79) and completion percentage (.667) to help the Tigers go 10-3 with a Liberty Bowl win over Iowa State.
Smith served seven seasons on staff at UAB as the Blazers’ wide receivers coach beginning in 2016. He helped lead the program back to the playing field in 2017 after the program was shut down. UAB played in three bowl games and captured a pair of Conference USA crowns during his tenure.
A former Vanderbilt quarterback, Smith began his coaching career at Jacksonville State in 2013 as a graduate assistant before being promoted to the Gamecocks’ quarterbacks coach. In 2015, he helped turn QB Eli Jenkins into All-American when he passed for nearly 4,000 yards and 36 touchdowns to lead the Gamecocks to the FCS National Championship Game for the first time in program history.
Smith started 27 games at Vanderbilt during his career, helping lead the program back to the postseason in over 25 years in 2008 and again in 2011. He earned his first career start in the Music City Bowl as a freshman with his final start coming in the Liberty Bowl as a senior.
He and his wife, Nichele, have two sons – Tripp and Karter.
The Myers File
Birthdate: April 1, 1992
Hometown: Weston, Ohio
High School: Massillon Washington HS
College: Toledo, 2014
Family: Wife – Lauren; Daughter – Kalani
Coaching Experience
2015 Toledo – Graduate Assistant
2016-17 Iowa State – Graduate Assistant
2018 Iowa State – Offensive Quality Control
2018-22 Iowa State – Offensive Line
2023 Memphis – Offensive Line
2025-25 Memphis – Running Game Coordinator/Offensive Line
Playing Experience
2010-14 Toledo
The Smith File
Birthdate: February 22, 1989
Hometown: Prattville, Ala.
High School: Prattville HS
College: Vanderbilt, 2011
Family: Wife – Nichele; Sons – Tripp and Karter
Coaching Experience
2013 Jacksonville State – Graduate Assistant
2014-15 Jacksonville State – Quarterbacks
2016-22 UAB – Wide Receivers
2023-25 Memphis – Wide Receivers
Playing Experience
2007-11 Vanderbilt