AJ Hill is one of several Tigers to follow Silverfield to Arkansas, along with Sutton Smith and Jamari Hawkins.
The Memphis Tigers’ former quarterback of the future is now taking his talents to Arkansas.
AJ Hill, a 4-star recruit from Houston County High School (GA) ranked 11th in the class of 2025 by 247Sports and 7th among pocket passers by ESPN, committed to the Razorbacks for the 2026 season. Hill follows former Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield, who was hired Nov. 30 by Arkansas.
Hill split second-string quarterback duties with Arrington Maiden during his lone year at Memphis, backing up sixth-year senior Brendon Lewis. The Georgia native maintained his redshirt status by participating in two games, seeing substantial action in each appearance. On Oct. 18 at UAB, Lewis exited the game in the second quarter, thrusting Hill onto the field for his first collegiate action. The quarterback finished 13-of-25 with 175 passing yards, firing for one touchdown and one interception in the Tigers’ stunning defeat.
Two months later, Hill earned reps in the Gasparilla Bowl loss to NC State after Lewis checked out of the contest. The true freshman completed 6-of-7 passes for 48 — with all of that production occurring on one fourth quarter possession.
Memphis’ quarterback situation for 2026 is now in question as the Tigers lost all three quarterbacks that saw playing time in 2025. Lewis exhausted his eligibility, Hill transferred to Arkansas, and Maiden is currently in the portal. New head coach Charles Huff brought Denzel Gardner along with him from Southern Miss, a true freshman that did not see the field in his first year out of high school. Memphis, which enjoyed great quarterback lineage from 2014-24 with Paxton Lynch, Riley Ferguson, Brady White, and Seth Henigan, may be in the mix for another transfer to compete for the starting job in 2026.
As for Arkansas, Hill joins KJ Jackson (33-of-54, 441 passing yards, 3 TD, 0 INT in 2025) in a quarterback room that must find a replacement to departing senior Taylen Green. Hill is not the only Memphis Tiger traveling to Fayetteville with Silverfield. Starting running back Sutton Smith, second-leading receiver Jamari Hawkins, and offensive tackle Malachi Breland were other Tigers that converted to Razorbacks within the first five days of the transfer portal window.
Category: General Sports
