Central Arkansas Bears 2026 Season Preview

Brown's Ledger Reads Red

Nathan Brown's 2025 finished 3-9 overall and 2-6 in league play, the kind of season that shows up in the standings more than in any power rating, since Central Arkansas still sits at a neutral No. 58. That gap between the record and the rating is the real note for 2026, a sign the underlying product was closer than the win column suggests. The number to watch is whether that league mark climbs off 2-6, because another season stuck there erases the benefit of the doubt the rating currently affords.

A Punter Playing Quarterback

The oddest projection on this roster is Luther Richesson, whose only 2025 stat line is 2 punts for a 38-yard average, penciled in as the 2026 quarterback. That says less about Richesson and more about how thin the position got in Conway, and it puts real pressure on an offense that was actually the sneaky-functional part of this team, sitting 23rd nationally in success rate despite ranking 120th in explosiveness. The bigger problem is still on the other side of the ball, where a defense that allowed 35.2 points a game and finished with a minus-13 turnover margin has to find takeaways before any quarterback question matters.

Luther Richesson takes the first-team reps into camp as the front-runner, but the job is not settled. Caleb Koger, who threw for 342 yards with 4 touchdowns against 3 interceptions, and Baylor transfer Walker White both give Nathan Brown real competition rather than a token backup battle. That uncertainty sits on top of an offense that moved the ball at 373 yards per game but ranked 120th in explosiveness, so whoever wins the job needs to turn Central Arkansas' efficient, chain-moving attack into more chunk plays, not just replicate last year's rhythm.

Landen Chambers took 1,273 yards and 10 touchdowns out the door, and nobody left in the room comes close to replacing that workload on paper. Chapman McKown (226 yards, 1 TD) and Cam Young (136 yards, 2 TD) split lighter roles a year ago, which means the carries are there for the taking rather than earned. Central Arkansas brought in James Jointer Jr. from Eastern Michigan to compete for exactly that kind of volume, and given an offense that already ranked 120th in explosiveness on successful plays, the bigger swing back was the difference between a middling ground game and a genuinely explosive one.

Tyrell Pollard turned 26 catches into 7 touchdowns and Ty Durham chipped in 36 grabs for 508 yards, so the short-passing chain-movers are intact even with Malachi Henry and his 889 yards gone to graduation. What that room lacks is Henry's explosive plays, and it shows in an offense that ranked 120th in explosiveness despite a respectable 45.1 percent success rate, meaning drives stalled into settling for chunks rather than scores. Cincinnati transfer Dakarai Anderson and Arlie Lee, who already turned 11 catches into 2 touchdowns, are the pieces Nathan Brown needs to find in open space if Central Arkansas is going to turn all those manageable third downs into the big plays this passing game has been missing.

Ben Haulmark's 67 yards on just three catches were the only real juice this room produced last year, and he's back alongside Jackson Kostmayer, who caught four passes, to anchor a group that never became a factor in an offense stuck 120th in explosiveness. Nathan Brown adds Crockett County product Dre Walker to a stable that also includes Dax Courtney, Jake Jones and JT Layton, none of whom have logged a stat yet. The bigger question is whether this position can start creating chunk plays down the seam, because a passing game that ranked 45th nationally in yardage still isn't hitting explosive gains, and tight ends catching a combined eight passes in 2025 need to be more than safety-valve targets in 2026.

Central Arkansas moved the ball well enough in 2025, ranking 23rd nationally in success rate and 45th in passing yards per game, but explosive plays never came, with the line's push producing just 1.12 on the average successful play, 120th in the country. Walker Baty, Will Diggins, William Mayo and Jamal Mull are all gone from that group, and Nathan Brown rebuilds up front with high school signee Jacob Rathbone and California transfer Lajuan Owens at guard or center and Khan Hoormann added at tackle. The formula worked in short yardage last year; whether Owens and Hoormann can turn steady drives into chunk plays is what changes UCA's ceiling in 2026.

Central Arkansas gave up 5.95 yards per play and let opponents stay on schedule at a rate that ranked 89th nationally, and none of last year's line production is walking back through the door, with Bradley Clark and Gary Lewis both gone from a group that barely got off blocks in the first place. Nathan Brown's answer up front is Dallas Davis, an edge arrival from Heritage Academy with no college stats yet, tasked with generating pressure a unit that finished 80th in rush yards allowed per game badly needed. Until Davis or someone else proves disruptive off the edge, the same soft rushing lanes that plagued a 3-9 defense look ready to reopen.

Opponents stayed on schedule against this defense far too often last season, a big reason Central Arkansas allowed 35.2 points and 410 yards per game, and the front seven takes a real hit with Daylon Land and Ny'Len Jones both gone from the linebacker room. Neither departed with gaudy tackle totals, so the bigger problem for Nathan Brown is scheme and consistency, not replacing a star, especially with the rushing defense already giving up 171 yards a game. Whoever fills those two spots inherits a unit that has to tighten run fits before the passing defense numbers can improve.

Nathan Brown's secondary gave up 239 passing yards a game and let opponents stay on schedule on better than half their snaps, numbers that trace straight back to a group that is losing nine defensive backs off last year's roster, including tacklers Dillon Williams and Dude Person along with Jalen Hodo and Sean Smith. That kind of turnover in the back end explains why Central Arkansas ranked 90th in passing yards allowed and 105th in points allowed at 35.2 a game, and an experienced secondary still on hand will need to tighten coverage on schedule-down snaps for the defense to look meaningfully different in UAC play in 2026.

Caleb Jones didn't miss a kick last season, going 9 of 9 with a long of 39 and handling the bulk of the scoring load with 61 points, giving Nathan Brown a placekicker he can trust without a second thought. The bigger question is who takes over punting duties with Trace Beard and his 42.4-yard average gone. Devin Jackson has some game experience at kicker, but the punt job looks like the real void this unit has to answer in 2026.

Replacing Landen Chambers

Landen Chambers is gone after a 1273-yard, 10-touchdown season, and Central Arkansas has nobody who has done anything close to that. Chapman McKown returns with only 226 rushing yards behind him, which means the ground game either grows up fast or the offense leans hard on Tyrell Pollard and Ty Durham to make up the difference through the air. That backfield rebuild, more than anything else on this roster, decides whether the Bears improve on a 3-9 season.

Road Warriors, Home Frauds

Central Arkansas lost eleven of twelve games straight up in 2025, yet bettors who backed the Bears as road underdogs cashed at a 67 percent clip, a split that has nothing to do with talent and everything to do with lines overreacting to a 3-9 record. That gap flips completely at home, where Nathan Brown's team went winless against the spread across four tries and 0-2 as a favorite, so the market has learned to price this roster as a trap anywhere it is expected to win. Until UAC actually covers as a favorite, the smart 2026 play stays the same as it just was: fade the Bears at home, take the points on the road.