Offensive Trio Lands on AP All-SEC Teams

ATLANTA – Two days after earning All-SEC honors from the league head coaches, senior offensive lineman Dan Skipper and sophomore running back Rawleigh Williams III landed on the Associated Press (AP) All-SEC first team Thursday afternoon. Arkansas was one of four teams with two offensive linemen on the AP’s All-SEC list as junior center Frank Ragnow earned a spot on the second team.

Williams is the seventh running back in program history to earn All-SEC first team honors from the AP and the first since Knile Davis in 2010. Skipper’s first team honor follows a junior campaign in 2015 in which he was named to the Associated Press second team. Arkansas has now had a AP All-SEC first team offensive lineman in three of four years under head coach Bret Bielema.

A three-time SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week, Skipper recently accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine Game held in January after a senior campaign in which he started all 12 regular season games at left tackle. One of three players to be named SEC Lineman of the Week twice this season, Skipper helped pave the way for Williams to capture the SEC regular season rushing title with 1,326 yards on the ground while junior quarterback Austin Allen has thrown for 3,152 yards, including a league-best 2,291 in conference play. Arkansas is one of nine FBS teams with a 1,300-yard rusher and 3,000-yard passer. All three of Skipper’s career offensive lineman of the week awards came over the last 16 weeks of SEC regular season action while he also added a SEC Special Teams Player of the Week accolade to his collection this season.

Williams became just the 13th running back in SEC history to win the league’s Offensive Player of the Week nod three times in a season. His third SEC weekly award of 2016 came after a career-high 205 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a win at Mississippi State. After missing the final six games of his freshman campaign in 2015 due to a neck injury, Williams has reached the 100-yard plateau on the ground in a league-best seven games in 2016, while his 1,326 yards are fifth-best in program single-season history. The Dallas native also has over a 200-yard lead on the rest of the SEC in yards from scrimmage (1,553) while adding 11 rushing touchdowns, one receiving TD and also throwing for a score.

Ragnow was recently tabbed an All-American by Pro Football Focus after finishing the regular season as the top ranked center in college football, according to the outlet. Ragnow was named to the Pro Football Focus Team of the Week twice this season and also earned SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors on Sept. 18. He has made 25 straight starts heading in Arkansas’ Belk Bowl showdown against Virginia Tech with 14 starts at right guard and 11 at center.