Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Two Arkansas defensive linemen are heading into the season with some extra hardware on their resumes.
Quincy Rhodes Jr. and David Oke were both tabbed for the 2027 Panini Senior Bowl Top 300 List, an announcement that came down Thursday morning.
The Senior Bowl carries a lot of weight in the football world. It’s the biggest all-star showcase in college football and marks the first real step of the NFL Draft process for hundreds of players every year.
The game itself happens in Mobile, Alabama, and it pulls in a massive crowd of evaluators.
More than 900 NFL staffers show up, and that includes top decision-makers from every one of the league’s 32 teams.
Add in over 1,100 media members and you’ve got one of the most-watched weeks on the pre-draft calendar.
Before trimming things down to 300 names, Senior Bowl officials looked at more than 2,000 players across the country.
Landing on that shorter list is no small feat, and it puts both Hogs in good company as fall camp winds down.
Rhodes keeps building on a big junior year
Rhodes has already stacked up plenty of preseason love heading into 2026.
He picked up second-team Preseason All-SEC nods from Athlon Sports, plus SEC media members and SEC coaches. Phil Steele also slotted him as a third-team preseason pick.
The recognition isn’t coming out of nowhere. The North Little Rock native turned in a breakout junior campaign last fall, racking up 44 total tackles and leading the team with 15.5 tackles for loss.
He also chipped in eight sacks, six quarterback hurries and a forced fumble along the way.
Those numbers put him in some rare Arkansas company. His 15.5 tackles for loss were the most by a Razorback defender since Trey Flowers hit that same mark back in 2015.
He also became the program’s first player to reach double-digit tackles for loss in a season since Landon Jackson had 13.5 in 2023, and the first Hog with three multi-sack games in one season since Tre Williams did it in 2021.
Nationally, Rhodes finished the regular season ranked 13th in tackles for loss per game at 1.23, which was good for second in the SEC.
He also landed 23rd nationally in sacks per game at 0.67.
Oke brings experience despite a shortened debut season
Oke’s first year on The Hill didn’t go quite as planned because of injury.
The Lagos, Nigeria, native only got into three games, finishing with four tackles and one tackle for loss.
He’s no stranger to production, though. Before arriving in Fayetteville, Oke spent three seasons at Abilene Christian from 2022 through 2024.
In that stretch he racked up 84 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and two pass breakups.
His best individual season came as a junior in 2024, when he logged 64 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss.
Between his track record before Arkansas and his upside once healthy, Oke gives the Razorbacks another experienced body up front as the depth chart takes shape.
What comes next for the Hogs
The 2027 Panini Senior Bowl is set for Jan. 30, 2027, inside Whitney Hancock Stadium in Mobile.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will air on NFL Network.
Before any of that, though, Arkansas has a season to play.
The Razorbacks open things up at home against North Alabama on Sept. 5 at 3:15 p.m., with the game airing on SEC Network from Razorback Stadium.
Key takeaways
- Quincy Rhodes Jr. and David Oke made the 2027 Panini Senior Bowl Top 300 List, announced Thursday
- Rhodes set his tackles-for-loss mark since Trey Flowers in 2015 and enters 2026 with multiple Preseason All-SEC honors
- Arkansas opens its season against North Alabama on Sept. 5 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium
