FAYETTEVILLE — Williams up for top TE honor
Arkansas tight end D.J.
Williams was named Monday as one of three finalists for the Mackey Award.
Williams, a Mackey Award semifinalist in 2008, is the first Razorback to be named a finalist for the trophy that is given to the nation’s top tight end.
Williams was joined by Missouri’s Michael Egnew and Wisconsin’s Lance Kendricks as finalists for the award, which incorporates athletic prowess, positive sportsmanship, good academic standing and exceptional leadership abilities.
“Well, he should be a finalist. He’s one of the best tight ends in the country,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said.
“I’m not surprised one bit,” Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett said. “He makes things happen.”
The senior out of Little Rock is the active NCAA leader among tight ends with 144 receptions and 1,789 receiving yards. He has 50 receptions more than the next-closest tight end and 314 more receiving yards.
Williams has 46 receptions for 561 yards and 4 touchdowns this season, and his 4.2 receptions per game rank fifth in the SEC.
The Mackey Award will be presented at the Home Depot College Football Awards show Dec. 9.
Big risk rewarded
Defensive end Tenarius Wright revealed the big secret behind his blitzkrieg sack of Chris Relf on the final play of Arkansas’ 38-31 double overtime victory.
“I just jumped the snap count and went for the sack,” Wright said.
“It’s pretty much a big risk by jumping the snap count because they could freeze you and you’d have an offsides penalty, but sometimes you have to take big risks and do things outside the box.” Franklin and Love
Linebacker Jerry Franklin and offensive tackle DeMarcus Love each picked up honors awarded by the SEC office Monday.
Franklin was named SEC defensive player of the week after notching a career-high 20 tackles, two for loss, in the Razorbacks’ 38-31 double-overtime victory against Mississippi State.
His tackle total was the 10thmost in school history and the most for a Razorback since Ken Hamlin had 22 against Troy in 2002.
Franklin’s 20 tackles rank fourth in the NCAA this season and they are the most under a Bobby Petrino team at Arkansas, beating the 16 logged by Freddy Burton against Alabama in 2008.
Love, who frequently protects quarterback Ryan Mallett’s blind side, was named the SEC offensive lineman of the week.
Love played a key role in Arkansas piling up 488 total yards and an average of 8.0 yards per play against the Bulldogs. He also blocked for Knile Davis, who rushed for 187 yards to become the first player to run for 100 yards on Mississippi State this season.
Bowling over ’Dogs
Freshman center Travis Swanson earned the accolades of his coaches and teammates with a cut block on Knile Davis’ 62-yard touchdown run in the first quarter last week.
Coach Bobby Petrino made special notice of the block on his weekly television show and the play came up again during Monday’s interviews in the Raymond Miller room at the Broyles Center.
“He caused three people to fall,” Davis said.
Indeed, the replay showed Swanson’s original thrust took out two Mississippi State players, and one of the two fell into and toppled a third Bulldog.
Mallett misses cut
Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett did not make the list of three finalists for the Davey O’Brien and the Maxwell awards, which were announced Monday.
Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore and Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck were the finalists for both the O’Brien Award, which is for quarterbacks, and the Maxwell Award, which is given to the nation’s top player.
Mallett had been a semifinalist for both awards.
Bowl tickets
The Arkansas ticket office is taking pre-orders for the Razorbacks’ bowl game, which will be officially announced on Dec.
5.
Fans can go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com and click on the tickets link to submit a pre-order, which will include a $10 application and processing fee.
For more information, call the Razorback ticket office at 800-982-4647.
Don’t get ‘the boot’
LSU Coach Les Miles, as usual, put an interesting spin on what the Golden Boot trophy means to him.
After explaining the intensity of the games, Miles added, “I can also tell you that the Boot kind of reminds me of the shape of our state. I can tell you that a boot is also a piece of clothing worn on the foot.
The key is not to be given the boot.”
Tight with Tigers
The combined score of the past three Arkansas-LSU games has been 111-111, with four overtime periods involved. Arkansas is 2-1 in those games, winning 50-48 in triple overtime over No.
1 LSU in 2008 and 31-30 in Little Rock the following year.
The lone Arkansas loss occurred last season, when LSU rallied from a 30-27 deficit in the final minute to force overtime in a 33-30 decision.
Sports, Pages 21 on 11/23/2010