SEC Names Four Hogs on All-Freshmen Team

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Southeastern Conference coaches selected four Arkansas players to the SEC Coaches’ All-Freshmen Team, the conference office announced on Thursday.

Arkansas placed one player on the offensive team, had two defensive-team selections and a special teams honoree. UA’s four overall selections were tied for the second-most with Florida to Auburn’s six four.

Defensive end Damario Ambrose and linebacker Freddy Burton represented the Hogs on the defensive team while tight end D.J. Williams is the lone Hog named to the offensive team. Alex Tejada earned special teams honors.

Damario Ambrose has appeared in 10 games for the Razorbacks and has 13 tackles on the season. His coming out party was an eight-tackle, 1.5-TFL performance against North Texas. He was named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week following the North Texas game. Ambrose notched two more tackles and a quarterback hurry vs. Florida International on 23 snaps. He registered his third TFL (-2) of the season vs. Mississippi State. He also has one sack on the season, against North Texas, for a loss of 11 yards.

Freddy Burton has played in 11 games for Arkansas this season and has 23 tackles, including 12 solo stops. He has been a special-teams terror with a team-leading 21 tackles over those 11 games. Burton was named the Hogwired.com Special Teams Player of the Week following the North Texas game where he logged a career-high five tackles, including four solo stops on special teams. He earned his second Hogwired.com Special Teams Player of the Week honor with a team-high four special teams stops vs. Auburn.

D.J. Williams made his first career start for the Razorbacks against Kentucky. He totals five catches for 94 yards over 12 games played this season. His made his first career catch against Troy and his career long catch (28 yards) against North Texas. He also made catches during the Auburn and LSU games.

Alex Tejada has been near perfect in kicking duties, going 17-for-21 in field goal attempts, with a long of 47 yards, and 57-for-59 in PATs in 12 games this season. He is 17 of 21 on the season in field goals including a perfect 12 of 12 from 40 yards or less. His 42-yard field goal against Tennessee was the fourth converted field goal from 40 yards or more for Tejada this season. He is four of seven from that range including a season-long 47-yarder. He ranks tied for 30th in the nation and fourth in the SEC in field goals, averaging 1.42 per game. His 9.00 points per game rank him third in the SEC and tied for 18th in the nation in scoring.

Tejada tied the school record for PATs in a game with nine against North Texas. With four successful attempts against Troy, Tejada became the first Arkansas kicker with four field goals in a game since Chris Balseiro’s performance in the 2003 Independence Bowl. Tejada’s 17 field goals made are the most by a UA kicker in a season since Todd Latourette made 17 in 1998.

For a complete listing of the 2007 SEC All-Freshmen Team honorees, visit www.secsports.com.