Arkansas names three team captains ahead of 2026 season opener

Arkansas revealed the three players who’ll lead the team in 2026 and Monday’s announcement touched both sides of the ball.

A quarterback, a center and a linebacker got the nod. Jackson runs the offense, Kitler holds down the middle of the line and Shaw patrols the second level on defense.

Each one is a returning player who put in the work to earn this honor.

The Hogs kick off their season this weekend behind a quarterback who’s still settling into his new title.

Coaches only recently locked in Jackson as the starter but his track record eases any worry about the short runway.

He racked up three passing scores and better than 400 yards through the air a season ago and chipped in two more touchdowns on the ground.

Coach Ryan Silverfield made it clear the choice wasn’t rushed even though it might have looked that way from the outside.

“Excited about (Jackson) and his role as QB1 with the future of our program,” Silverfield said during fall camp press conferences. “He’s done an excellent job leading up to today and that decision, it wasn’t an easy decision, but a very confident one we made as a staff. Very, very confident moving forward with him as our starter and leader.”

That kind of trust doesn’t happen overnight and it says a lot about how Jackson carried himself through fall camp.

Kitler anchors the middle of the line

Kitler isn’t new to leadership either. Nearly every snap up front last year ran through him and he missed just one start out of a dozen games.

His 719 snaps drew solid marks from Pro Football Focus too, with a 68.4 grade in pass protection and 51.8 in the run game feeding into an overall score of 57.7.

Numbers like that don’t grab headlines but they matter a ton up front. A steady center keeps the whole offense on schedule and Kitler’s experience should help a young quarterback settle in faster.

Shaw’s path to becoming a captain looked a little different.

He played behind veterans Xavian Sorey Jr. and Stephen Dix Jr. for most of last season but still made plenty of splash plays including a pair of sacks a forced fumble and a scoop-and-score off a fumble recovery.

His tackle count landed at 50 with five of those coming behind the line of scrimmage.

Now Shaw steps into the spotlight as the heartbeat of the Hogs defense and he admitted the jump wasn’t automatic.

“It’s something that I definitely had to grow into,” Shaw said during fall camp press conferences. “And I’d say Coach Roberts and Coach (Cannon) Gibbs, they helped me grow into that role. At first it was kind of unusual because previously I never really had to command.”

Kickoff is set for Saturday

North Alabama comes to Fayetteville for the season opener and it’s a home game through and through for Arkansas.

Fans headed to Razorback Stadium should plan for a 3:15 p.m. kickoff or catch the broadcast on the SEC Network if they can’t make it out.

With Jackson Kitler and Shaw wearing the “C” the Razorbacks head into the opener with leadership spread across offense and defense alike.

It’s a group that earned its role through the work put in long before Saturday’s opening whistle.