McFadden Olajubutu and Skinner Earn Hogwired.com Player of the Week Honors

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Sophomore Darren McFadden and seniors Sam Olajubutu and Jacob Skinner earned recognition on Monday as the Hogwired.com Players of the Week after their performances in a 20-0 Razorback win over Utah State last weekend.

McFadden earned offensive player of the week honors. Olajubutu took home defensive honors with Skinner winning his second-consecutive special teams’ award.

McFadden exploded for 184 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries to pace the Razorback offense. He tallied a career-long rush when he darted 72 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. His rushing total against the Aggies was the third-best outing of his career and tied for the 20th best single-game rushing mark in school history. His 184 yards against Utah State is the most by an SEC running back this season. McFadden moved into a tie for 11th with his sixth 100-yard rushing game as a Razorback tying former UA running back Jerry Eckwood. It was the third time McFadden had garnered 180 or more rushing yards on his career ranking him second only to Fred Talley (four) in that category. The Little Rock, Ark., product ranks second in the SEC and 17th in the nation with an average of 113.0 yards per game.

Olajubutu paced the Razorbacks in tackles for the second-consecutive week garnering 13 stops in the shutout win over Utah State. The LaGrange, Ga., native tallied eight solo stops, two quarterback hurries and one tackle for loss (-1). With his 12 tackles against USC and his 13 against Utah State, Olajubutu has now earned double-digit tackles 11 times in his career. The Hogs’ leading tackler helped Arkansas hold Utah State to 249 yards of total offense and post its first shutout in 41 games since blanking South Carolina in 2002.

For the second-straight week, Skinner was sensational in the punting game. The senior from Texarkana, Texas, helped Arkansas dominate the field position battle by landing three of his six punts inside the Aggies’ 20-yard line. He averaged 38.0 yards on six kicks including a 42-yard effort. Utah State returned only one of Skinner’s punts, with that effort going for a loss of one yard. In fact, that is the only one of Skinner’s punts to be returned this season in 11 tries. Skinner is tied for the SEC lead with four punts inside the 20.

Following each game this season, Hogwired.com will recognize an offensive, defensive and special teams player of the week. Recipients are chosen by the UA football coaching staff.