FRISCO, Texas — The presence of Arkansas great Darren McFadden, a handful of current football players and a big swath of Dallas Metroplex Arkansas fans lent an edge to the finale of the “All In Roadshow” on Monday night.
The entertainment showpiece that former Razorback Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, fashioned at “The Star” served as the venue for the capper of the series, which put first-year football coach Ryan Silverfield in front of hundreds of fans at each of the four stops.
Silverfield dove right in Monday, conducting a quick media interview, then wading from table to table, shaking hands and saying “Hi, I’m Ryan” to one table after the next among the crowd of about 200 in an entertainment space with views to the Cowboys practice fields.
When emcee Chuck Barrett introduced him to the crowd and asked him what he thought of the energy and attendance, Silverfield responded, “You guys showed up. This is great.
“We’ve heard about this area, this region, North Texas. You guys are the absolute best. … Thank you guys for showing up. We are very, very appreciative.”
Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek, who had other engagements, including a College Football Playoff committee meeting, that kept him off the roadshow last week, made a speaking appearance.
Yurachek reinforced the recent news that the athletic department is on the verge of announcing what it is calling the largest stadium naming rights deal in college football.
UA officials confirmed after the event they expect the signage to be in place for the 2027 football season.
“We’re close to the finish line of a new name for Razorback Stadium that we hope to announce some time in the month of June,” Yurachek told the crowd. He also announced the school was in the middle of a multi-media rights request for proposal process that “we believe will net us somewhere close to a half a billion dollars over the 10 to 12 years of that agreement.
“That just goes to show you the power of the Arkansas Razorback brand.”
Yurachek also praised the large concentration of Razorback fans in north Texas, citing the 20,000-plus fans who attended an Arkansas baseball game at Globe Life Field early in the season.
“You know we love to come here,” Yurachek said. “We were here for 10 straight years at AT&T Stadium versus Texas A&M. Our baseball team is a fixture here now over at Globe Life Field and Coach Cal (John Calipari) loves to come down here and play basketball. We always have great crowds when we’re down here.”
Barrett introduced McFadden as “the greatest Razorback” to kick off the show and did a brief discussion with the two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up as well as another former Arkansas running back, Brandon Barnett.
“I feel like I’m in Razorback country out here,” said McFadden, who has settled in the Metroplex since his playing days with the Cowboys. “I love it.”
Co-host Matt Zimmerman got the crowd roused later in the program with a second declaration of McFadden’s status as the greatest Razorback ever.
Barnett, a former Texarkana Arkansas High graduate, pointed out he played for two sets of Razorbacks and carried his love for the mascot and school into his working career in the Metroplex.
The five current Razorbacks — receiver CJ Brown, offensive linemen Caden Kitler and Kash Courtney, cornerback Jaheim “Joker” Johnson and defensive lineman Hunter Osborne — all sporting Tyson Foods caps as part of an appearance agreement — took turns doing quick hits with Barrett.
Katie Silverfield, the coach’s wife, said a meet-and-greet event like the roadshow is right in his wheelhouse.
“Oh, 100%. My husband’s an introvert by nature until it comes to football,” she said. “And then, because he knows it so well, he’s all out, all in.
“We view this as a community event and we view it as part of our family. So we open our home to most folks that want to be there and we view this as an extension of our home, so we’re here.”
Silverfield called his wife “the social bug” but admitted he enjoyed embracing the fans.
“The more opportunities we have, not only in our great state, which we’ve enjoyed — the roadshow has been phenomenal — and being down here, at Area 1, where we’re got so many great fans and we have so many students that go to the University of Arkansas, which is so great. Then obviously this is a recruiting hotbed for us. This is a wonderful opportunity.”
When Silverfield approached one unsuspecting fan from the side and the person demonstrated a little surprise, Silverfield patiently explained, “I’m the head football coach.”
Silverfield was the featured speaker at each of the stops on the four-city tour in Fayetteville, Little Rock, Jonesboro and Frisco. Those associated with the event said it built in energy as it went along.
The Razorback players reported back for “voluntary” workouts on Sunday, and the doors were open at the practice facility at 6 a.m. on Monday.
Osborne told Chuck Barrett he was there at 6:01 a.m.
Osborne also drew applause from the fans when responding to a Barrett question about what makes a good defensive lineman by saying, “They’ve got to be violent.”
Each of the current Razorbacks in attendance said they didn’t hesitate when asked to be on the trip, from which they flew in an out of on university planes.
“It was really cool,” Brown said. “I’ve never been here, but I’ve been to Cowboys Stadium. I didn’t realize how nice it was. It was cool. I wanted to come.”
Said Kitler, “It’s a great opportunity. You don’t get to do this every day: Fly on a private jet and then come down to Frisco especially, being near my hometown, it’s pretty cool.”
Kitler is from The Colongy, another Metroplex city, and Courtney, a redshirt freshman, is from Carthage, Texas.
“I was surprised at first, being a younger guy,” Courtney said. “But this is always something I wanted to do, come back to my home state and be able to represent the team and just show we want to be here.”