Arkansas players Elijah Trest, Christian Franklin and Casey Opitz talked with the media after Opitz’ 10-inning walk-off double to sweep the series against the Vols.
Haff shuts out Aggies, Warrick homers to lift Razorback to win
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas’ Mary Haff pitched eight scoreless innings Sunday evening and Katie Warrick hit a three-run homer for a 3-0 win over Texas A&M.
The Razorbacks and Aggies will meet for the rubber match Monday night.
Haff’s shutout was her seventh of the season. She recorded five strikeouts in the win, walking only one Aggie over the course of the extra-inning outing.
Haff’s strong performance included only three allowed hits on the night, stranding six Aggie runners on base.
With two outs on the board, Warrick saw an opportunity ahead of her with Razorback base runners, sophomores Hannah McEwen and Danielle Gibson on first and second.
She connected on the first pitch from Aggie starter, Payton McBride, bouncing her 10th home run of the season off the scoreboard in left field.
While the Razorbacks recorded three hits, including Warricks’ home run, with two outs, Haff managed to keep the Aggie bats at bay, forcing the opponents to go 0-for-8 with two outs down and 1-for-13 with runners on base.
Behind Haff, the Razorbacks tallied seven total hits, three of which came off the bat of sophomore Danielle Gibson. Sophomore Hannah McEwen recorded a multiple-hit game as well (2-for-3).
Notables
• Haff now has 18 career shutouts, two shutouts from ranking 2nd in the Arkansas record book for shutouts in a career.
• Arkansas has played extra innings in two contests this year, going 2-0 in those games.
• Hannah McEwen extends her on-base streak to 13 contests, reaching base safely in 47 of 51 games this season.
Up Next
The Razorbacks will face the Aggies for game three, Monday evening at 6 p.m.
All three games in the series can be seen on SEC Network with Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Erin Miller (color) on the call.
Authenticated subscribers can access streams of all three games through WatchESPN and the ESPN app on their computers, mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs and other connected devices.
Razorbacks take SEC Men’s Championship, downing Auburn
WOOO PIG SOOIE! @RazorbackMGolf WINS THE SEC TITLE! pic.twitter.com/99PghlBzOC
— Arkansas Razorbacks (@ArkRazorbacks) April 28, 2019
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Julian Perico won the 18th hole to give Arkansas its first SEC Men’s Golf Championship since 1995.
Perico, William Buhl and Tyson Reeder each won their matches Sunday to give the Razorbacks a 3.5-1.5 victory over Auburn at Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside Course).
Perico, the only Razorback to win all three of his match play contests, was tied with Grayson Huff through 17 holes. Perico bombed his tee shot to wedge distance while his playing partner had to layup out of the fairway bunker. Perico landed his approach shot to about nine feet and two-putted for the 1-Up win.
“We hung in there all day long,” said coach Brad McMakin. “William (Buhl) went out and won that first point which I think is so key in match play. After Auburn tied it, Luis Garza and Julian were down one or two through 13 holes but they continued to fight and make a couple of putts.
“These guys will always be champions together. This is a very close group, maybe the closest I’ve coached. They really came together over the last two months and showed this weekend what I thought they were capable of this season.”
The other match on the course was Garza and Jovan Rubala, who halved the final point. The pair was in a playoff on the 10th hole but was not completed after Perico’s win. Garza was 2-0-1 in his three matches.
As he did, in the semifinal, Buhl gave Arkansas its first point with an impressive win over Jacob Solomon. Down the stretch, Solomon threatened as he holed out from the front bunker for an eagle on 15.
However, Buhl followed with an eagle of his own from the same bunker to remain 3-up with three to play. The junior then had a par on the 16th to secure the 3&2 win.
Mason Overstreet played well and was even par for the day but ran against a buzzsaw in Auburn’s Brandon Mancheno, who won 6&5 thanks to four birdies and an eagle to close the match and even the team score at 1-1.
Tyson Reeder put Arkansas up 2-1 after winning his match 2-up over Trace Crowe. Reeder led the whole round but Crowe cut his deficit to one by winning the 16th hole. Both players had par on 17 to make the 18th hole interesting.
Reeder threw a dart into the 18th green while Crowe was off the green to the left. Crowe’s chip ran past Reeder’s ball and Reeder’s birdie putt was conceded for the 2-up win.
Arkansas will learn its destination for the 2019 NCAA Regional on Wednesday (May 1) from 8-9 p.m.
The regional sites are: Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Washington; Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, California; TPC Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina; University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky; University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Georgia; and University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas. Regionals will take place May 13-15.
Thirteen teams and 10 individuals not on one of those 13 teams will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals, also not on those teams.
The low five teams and low individual not on those teams from each regional advance to the finals at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas May 24-29.
CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
Arkansas def. Auburn 3.5-to-1.5
Match 1: William Buhl (Arkansas) def. #61 Jacob Solomon (Auburn): 3&2
Match 2: Tyson Reeder (Arkansas) def. #82 Trace Crowe (Auburn): 2-Up
Match 3: Luis Garza (Arkansas) AND #55 Jovan Rubula (Auburn): Tied
Match 4: Julian Perico (Arkansas) def. Grayson Huff (Auburn): 1-Up
Match 5: #86 Brandon Mancheno (Auburn) def. Mason Overstreet (Arkansas): 6&5
Long ball, Wicklander, lifts Hogs to series-clinching win over Vols
FAYETTEVILLE — For the second straight night, Arkansas scored 10 or more runs and notched 10 or more hits as they dominated Tennessee, 15-3, Saturday night in Baum-Walker Stadium.
The Razorbacks not only clinched the series, but got its sixth conference victory in a row.
Arkansas (33-11, 14-6 SEC) utilized a four-run third inning and four-run fourth inning to help knock out Tennessee (31-13, 9-11 SEC) starter Garrett Stallings after 3.2 innings, his shortest outing of the season.
With an 8-0 lead, freshman starter Patrick Wicklander was able to work into the sixth inning before allowing his first run, but Tennessee’s offense stayed relatively quiet the entire night.
Six different Razorbacks recorded multi-hit games with freshman Christian Franklin having the best night, going a career-high 4-for-4 with three runs scored and one RBI.
Trevor Ezell and Heston Kjerstad both went 3-for-5 with seven combined RBIs. It was Ezell’s second-straight three-hit performance, while Kjerstad drove in five of Arkansas’ 15 runs off two homers. It was his fourth career multi-home run game and second of the year.
Casey Martin and Kjerstad combined for 10 RBIs in the game, seven from home runs.
Martin hit a three-run homer in the third inning, his ninth of the year, while Kjerstad’s came in the sixth and seventh innings. He now has 12 home runs, which ties for second in the SEC and the five RBIs for him and Kjerstad were both season-highs.
Wicklander earned his fourth win of the year after allowing just two runs on four hits in a career-long 5.2 innings. His seven strikeouts were just one off his career best and fifth-straight outing with four or more.
The Hogs have notched 10 or more hits in six consecutive games and eight of its last nine. On the flip side, Tennessee had allowed just 23 runs combined in its last 11 games before giving up 26 to the Razorbacks in this weekend’s series.
Next man up
Junior Jordan McFarland came through when his name was called again Saturday night.
With usual starting designated hitter Matt Goodheart out with a sore shoulder, McFarland got the start and delivered a 2-for-3 performance at the plate with a solo home run in the third inning that got everything started.
It was McFarland’s second home run and second in as many appearances as he had one on Tuesday against Northwestern State. McFarland is 9-for-18 in his last five games with six RBIs and two home runs.
Ezell surpasses 300 hits in career
Redshirt senior Trevor Ezell reached the 300 career hit plateau in his first at-bat Saturday night on a lead-off single to right field.
Ezell finished the game with three hits and now sits at 302 for his career. Ezell totaled 251 hits over four years at Southeast Missouri State prior to joining Arkansas for the 2019 season.
He now sits at 51 hits this year, third most on the team.
Got the long ball working
Over the last nine games, Arkansas’ offense has hit a blistering .391 and slugged .672 with 19 home runs.
Four of those home runs came in Saturday’s victory as Kjerstad not only went deep twice, but McFarland and Casey Martin did as well.
It’s the fourth game this year that the Razorbacks have hit four or more home runs in a game and ups their season total to 56, which is good for a tie for second in the SEC.
Razorback quotables
“The offense is clicking right now. With baseball, that’s just kind of the way it works. Sometimes you struggle and you fight it, and when it’s going good you’ve got to get as many wins as you can and score runs when you can. Our offense has just been seeing the ball well. We’ve had a lot of timely hits. We’ve just done a great job. It all started a couple weeks ago and we’ve hit the ball pretty well. Even in our loss this past Wednesday, we still hit the ball hard and scored seven runs and probably hit another six or seven balls on the nose right at people. But that’s kind of the way the game works.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on his offense clicking over the past two weeks
“Just a really, really good start by Patrick Wicklander. A true freshman, and I think for the second week in a row in conference play, he’s gone out and given us an opportunity to kind of get our feet underneath us and see what we had to do to score some runs against the opposition. He just pitched great. He had a good fastball and a really good breaking ball, mixed in some changeups. He kept them off balance a little bit.” — Van Horn on Patrick Wicklande
“It was real good. He’s struggled a little bit and he made an adjustment with his hand placement on the bat a couple of days ago. I think it’s flattened his swing out a little bit and if it didn’t, it sure gave him some confidence. He let the ball get deep four times and hit four balls hard the other way. It was really good to see.” — Van Horn on Christian Franklin’s four-hit performance
“Yeah, most Friday-Saturday guys are going to be really good to put it lightly. I think once we kind of broke it open there he started trying to get the ball up more and we definitely took advantage of that. I think we had several hits in a row that inning and then the next inning we put it on him again. So, the hitting tonight was kind of infectious. I thought we did really good getting him out of there and then continuing it after the bullpen came in.” — Jordan McFarland on the offense taking it to Tennessee’s starting pitcher
“It’s always fun when you go against a pitching staff like them. One of the better ones in the nation from what everyone has bene saying. When you match up against a pitching staff like that we all love the challenge and the competition and I think that brings the best out of all of us hitters.” — Heston Kjerstad on the offense performing well against a good Tennessee staff
Up next
Arkansas will go for its second-straight SEC sweep on Sunday as it hosts the Volunteers one more time at Baum-Walker Stadium with first pitch slated for 4 p.m.
The game will be televised nationally on the SEC Network.
Arkansas gets more hits, but not more runs in 3-1 loss Saturday night
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas got more hits than Texas A&M on Saturday night, but a three-run fifth inning by the Aggies was enough for a 3-1 win in the first game of the series.
Arkansas (34-16, 8-11) has held opponents scoreless for 16 of its last 19 innings, but the Aggies took advantage of a timely base-hit, a wild pitch, and Razorback error to score three runs in the fifth, gaining the lead and holding on for the win.
The Razorbacks looked to be starting a rally in the sixth inning, as Katie Warrick, Kayla Green, and Sydney Parr hit consecutive base hits to load the bases with one out on the board.
Senior Haydi Bugarin’s groundout to second base would be enough for Warrick to score from third, but no other runs would cross the plate for the Hogs.
Sophomore Hannah McEwen finished the night 2-for-3 at the plate, extending her on-base streak to 12 games, reaching base in 46 of 50 contests.
Junior Sydney Parr, too, recorded two hits against the Aggies, good for her 10thmultiple hit game of the season.
Aggie starter, Kendall Potts (11-10) earned the win, facing 29 Razorbacks at the plate and striking out five.
Up next
The Razorbacks face the Aggies in game two Sunday evening at 7 p.m. All three games in the series can be seen on SEC Network with Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Erin Miller (color) on the call.
Authenticated subscribers can access streams of all three games through WatchESPN and the ESPN app on their computers, mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs and other connected devices.
Keep up with the Hogs
Game 2 | Watch | Live Scoring
Game 3 | Watch | Live Scoring
Van Horn on strong outing from Wicklander, bats staying hot
Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn talked about Patrick Wicklander’s performance on eight days rest and the hitting groove after clinching series over Vols on Saturday night.
Wicklander, Kjerstad, McFarland recapping series-clinching win
Arkansas starting pitcher Patrick Wicklander, centerfielder Heston Kjerstad and designated hitter on another offensive explosion to clinch series over Tennessee, 15-3.
Razorbacks get past Vandy, A&M; meet Auburn on Sunday for SEC Championship
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Arkansas needed two extra holes to defeat Vanderbilt, 3-2-0, in the quarterfinal round of match play at the 2019 SEC Championships Saturday morning at Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside Course).
The Razorbacks also needed an extra hole to defeat Texas A&M, 3-2-0, in the semifinals Saturday afternoon.
Arkansas will face stroke play champion and 13th-ranked Auburn in the championship match Sunday. The first tee time is set for 6:30 am and will be covered live on the SEC Network.
Auburn defeated South Carolina, 4-1-0, in the quarters and beat Kentucky, 3-2-0, in the semis to advance to the championship.
Luis Garza and Julian Perico had wins in both matches. Garza defeated third-ranked Will Gordon of Vanderbilt 5&4 in the semifinals and clinched the semifinal win over Texas A&M’s Brandon Smith on the 19th hole.
Perico clinched the morning win, also doing so on the 19th hole for the 3-2 win over Vandy, then won 3&2 for Arkansas’ second point in the semifinals.
“To win in extra holes in both matches is pretty overwhelming,” said coach Brad McMakin. “It is great for our program and something these guys will remember for the rest of their lives. Auburn is playing well, and that last round of stroke play may have been one of the best rounds I’ve seen. But the good thing about match play is you only have to win three.
“I can’t say enough about Luis Garza’s performances. He beat one of the top players in the country in Wil Gordon this morning, making seven 3’s in a row at one point and he came back and played well again in the afternoon.”
QUARTERFINAL RECAP: Arkansas over Vanderbilt 3-2-0
In the quarterfinals, Arkansas and Vanderbilt battled to the end with two matches needing extra holes to settle a winner.
The first two matches were settled early.
Luis Garza got Arkansas on the board first, defeating the 3rd-ranked player in the nation, Will Gordon, 5-and-4. The duo was all square through seven holes before Garza won five of the next seven holes to go up five.
Both players posted pars on the 14th hole to give Garza the win as he was up five with four holes left to play.
Moments later, Vandy knotted the match at 1-1 as 17th-ranked Patrick Martin defeated Mason Overstreet 3&2 in what was the first match off for the teams.
The final three matches were back-and-forth affairs that were still in doubt after 17 holes.
First, William Buhl and John Augenstein, ranked 25th nationally, were all square through 14 holes. Augenstein went back on top after winning the par-4, 15th hole. The pair each had pars on holes 16 and 17 before Augenstein won the 18th for a 2-Up victory and 2-1 Commodore lead.
The deciding matches both needed and extra hole. First, Reeder was down two through 13 holes over Harrison Ott. Reeder won the 14th hole to go down one before each player carded pars on holes 15, 16 and 17. Reeder then had a par on the par-4, 18th to win the hole to extend the match. Reeder duplicated the effort on the first playoff hole to tie the match at 2-2.
Perico was in control most of the match versus Reid Davenport in the fifth and deciding match. Perico won the 13th and 16th holes to go up two with two holes to play.
Davenport rallied to birdie the 17th and par the 18th to win both holes and square the match through 18 holes. However, Perico lagged his birdie putt close and would close out the match with a short par putt to win his match and give the Razorbacks the 3-2 team win.
QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
Arkansas def. Vanderbilt 3-2-0
Match 1: #17 Patrick Martin (VU) def. Mason Overstreet (Arkansas): 3&2
Match 2: Luis Garza (Arkansas) def. #3 Will Gordan (VU): 5&4
Match 3: Tyson Reeder (Arkansas) def. Harrison Ott (VU): 19 Holes
Match 4: #25 John Augenstein (VU) def. William Buhl (Arkansas): 2-Up
Match 5: Julian Perico (Arkansas) def. Reid Davenport (VU): 19 Holes
SEMIFINAL RECAP: Arkansas over Texas A&M 3-2-0
In the afternoon semifinal session, Arkansas once again jumped out to a quick start. William Buhl won six of his first nine holes n route to a 6&5 win over Walker Lee.
Sam Bennett tied the match at 1-1 with a 2-Up win over Tyson Reeder. The Razorbacks regained the advantage when Julian Perico closed out Brandon Smith with a par on the 16th hole for a 3&2 victory.
Luis Garza was up two late, but Brandon Smith rallied to square the match with one hole to play. Both players posted par on the 18th hole to force a playoff.
Going to No. 10, both players striped long irons off the tee down the fairway. Smith hit first and found the middle of the green Garza followed but was outside Smith. Garza lagged his putt close. Smith ran his birdie putt five feet past and was still away. Smith then missed the par putt and settled for a bogey. Garza rolled in his par putt for the win.
Mason Overstreet, facing #46 Chandler Phillips, battled to the end. Overstreet drilled a 10-foot bogey putt on 17 to stay 1-Down and force an 18th hole while Garza’s match was still in question.
Overstreet and Phillips both had trouble off the tee on the 18th hole and were on the green while Garza was securing the winning point. Phillips would get the win, 1-Up.
SEMIFINAL RESULTS
Arkansas def. Texas A&M 3-2-0
Match 1: William Buhl (Ark) def. Walker Lee (Texas A&M): 6&5
Match 2: Sam Bennett (Texas A&M) def. Tyson Reeder (Ark): 2-Up
Match 3: Luis Garza (Ark) def. Brandon Smith (Texas A&M): 19 Holes
Match 4: Julian Perico (Ark) def. Dan Erickson (Texas A&M): 3&2
Match 5: #43 Chandler Phillips (Texas A&M) def. Mason Overstreet (Ark): 1-Up
Bucknam says Hogs on right track for SEC after winning National Relays
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas captured its first National Relay Championships team title Saturday afternoon as the Razorbacks scored 36 points across six scored relay events at John McDonnell Field.
“I think we’re on the right track for the SEC championships in two weeks,” said Bucknam. “These guys did a great job, they compete hard and practice hard. I’m just really proud of they handled it today and they got a nice win.”
The Razorbacks struck gold in the 4×800-meters with Ethan Moehn, Kieran Taylor, Chase Pareti, and Cameron Griffith carrying the baton to the tune of 7 minutes, 39.47 seconds.
High hurdlers Shakiel Chattoo, Tre’Bien Gilbert, Gabe Moore, and Carl Elliot III combined for a time of 57.81 in the 110-meter shuttle hurdle relay.
In the final event of the meet, Rhayko Schwartz, John Winn, Roy Ejiakuekwu, and Hunter Woodhall ran 3:08.66 for second-place in the 4×400-meter relay.
Arkansas scored 36-points over the two day meet.
| PLACE | MEN [6 out of 6 scored] | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Arkansas | 36 |
| 2 |  |
Texas | 31 |
| 3 |  |
Kansas State | 29 |
| 4 |  |
TCU | 20 |
| 5 |  |
Baylor | 16 |
| 6 |  |
Kansas | 11 |
| 7 |  |
Oklahoma | 10 |
| 8 |  |
Miss State | 7 |
| 9 |  |
Washington | 6 |
| 10 |  |
Oklahoma State | 5 |
| 11 |  |
Stanford | 4 |
Men’s 4×800m Relay
1st – Moehn, Taylor, Pareti, Griffith – 7:39.47
Men’s 4×110m Shuttle Hurdle
1st – Chattoo, Gilbert, Moore, Elliot III – 57.81
Men’s 4×400m Relay
2nd – Schwartz, Winn, Ejiakuekwu, Woodhall – 3:08.66
7th- Caldwell, Hari, Hilson, Milhoen – 3:12.78
Men’s Shot Put
4th – Sam Kempka – 18.38m (60-3.75)
7th – Jeff Rogers – 17.21m (56-5.75)
Razorbacks take four of six scored races to win National Relay Championship
FAYETTEVILLE — No. 1 Arkansas captured its first National Relay Championships team title Saturday afternoon as the Razorbacks captured four of the six scored relays including three of the four contested on the final day.
“I think the whole idea was to try to get as much done as we could, stay healthy, and try to get the focus ready for the SEC Championships,” said Harter.
Kiara Parker, Payton Chadwick, Janeek Brown, and Kethlin Campbell opened the meet with a time of 44.35 to win the 4×100-meter relay.
Arkansas returned to the track to win the 4×800-meter relay as Taylor Werner, Lauren Gregory, Quinn Owen, and Carina Viljoen combined to run 8:55.14.
Tori Hoggard was the champion of the invitational pole vault clearing 4.30m (14-1.25). Desiree Freier posted a top-five finish taking fourth with a best of 4.15m (13-7.25).
For the first time in John McDonnell Field history, a shuttle hurdle race was run and the Razorbacks took the title running 56.03 seconds. G’Auna Edwards led off, followed by Brown, J’Alyiea Smith, and Chadwick on the anchor.
As is tradition in track & field, the meet was capped with the 4×400-meter relay where Paris Peoples, Morgan Burks-Magee, Sydney Hammit, and Sydney Davis battled to a second-place finish in 3:36.03.
Arkansas scored a ridiculous 54-points out of a possible 60 over the six relays that were scored at the National Relay Championships.
| PLACE | WOMEN [6 out of 6 scored] | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
Arkansas | 54 |
| 2 | |
Texas | 38 |
| 3 | |
Kansas State | 34 |
| 4 | |
Baylor | 15 |
| 4 | |
TCU | 15 |
| 6 | |
Oklahoma | 12 |
| 7 | |
Kansas | 8 |
| 8 | |
Miss State | 6 |
| – | |
Oklahoma State | 0 |
| – | |
Stanford | 0 |
| – | |
Washington | 0 |
Women’s 4×100m Relay
1st – Parker, Chadwick, Brown, Campbell – 44.35
Women’s 4×800m Relay
1st – Werner, Gregory, Owen, Viljoen – 8:55.14
Women’s 4×100m Shuttle Hurdle
1st – Edwards, Brown, Smith, Chadwick – 56.03
Women’s High Jump
6th – J’Alyiea Smith – 1.69m (5-6.50)
Women’s Pole Vault Invitational
1st – Victoria Hoggard – 4.30m (14-1.25)
4th – Desiree Freier – 4.15m (13-7.25)
6th – Rylee Robinson – 4.00m (13-1.50)
Women’s 4×400m Relay
2nd- Peoples, Burks-Magee, Hammit, Davis – 3:36.03
Watts’ big season capped with sixth-round selection by Vikings
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas defensive lineman Armon Watts became the third Razorback selected in the 2019 NFL Draft after being taken by Minnesota in the sixth round with the 190th overall pick on Saturday.
Watts joins Hjalte Froholdt (New England, 4th round) and Dre Greenlaw (San Francisco, 5th round) as Razorbacks picked in this year’s NFL Draft, making it the eighth time in nine years Arkansas has had three or more players drafted.
The trio continues Arkansas’ streak of 24 years with at least one Razorback picked in the NFL Draft, which ranks fourth in the SEC.
From St. Louis, Missouri, Watts put together a strong senior campaign after recording just seven tackles over his previous three years wearing an Arkansas uniform.
In his final year, Watts played in all 12 games, starting each of the last 11 to total 621 snaps played, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), entering the season with just 114 snaps combined from 2015-17.
He was recognized three times by PFF, making the National Team of the Week after the second game of the year, while also bringing home Midseason All-SEC Team honors and SEC Team of the Week accolades for his play in week nine.
He ranked fifth on the team in total tackles, first among defensive lineman, with 49, which included 25 solo stops, 8.5 tackles for loss and a team-high 7.0 sacks.
Watts forced a team-best three fumbles, doing so in each of the first two games of the year against Eastern Illinois and Colorado State, both resulting in turnovers.
He put together two separate streaks of three-straight games with at least one sack and wrapped the year with a season-high seven tackles, six solo, on the road at Missouri.
Watts finished the year with the team’s highest overall defensive grade from PFF at 85.6, posting eight games with marks over 70.0.
He racked up a season-best 92.3 at Colorado State, with a 90.4 pressure grade and an 84.0 mark in run defense to land on the National Team of the Week.
Watts earned the Crip Hall Homecoming Performance by a Senior Award from the media after Arkansas’ win over Tulsa on Oct. 20.
After the season, he was honored with the Dan Hampton Award (defensive lineman of the year) and the Paul Eells Award (perseverance through adversity) by the Little Rock Touchdown Club at the group’s end of year awards banquet.
