UA Coaches Honor Four Razorbacks with Hogwired.com Player of the Week Awards

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas coaches honored four Razorbacks for their efforts in last weekend’s 44-10 win over Louisiana-Monroe by selecting them as the Hogwired.com Players of the Week on Monday.

Sophomore Felix Jones earned the offensive player of the week award while juniors Weston Dacus and Michael Grant shared the defensive honor. Junior Chris Houston captured the special teams’ recognition in the wake of the Razorbacks’ convincing non-conference win.

A week after earning SEC and Hogwired.com special teams’ honors, Jones laid claim to offensive plaudits with a career-best rushing day against the Warhawks. The Tulsa, Okla., native racked up a career-high 141 yards rushing and one touchdown on only nine carries. He averaged a remarkable 15.7 yards per rush in the Razorbacks’ victory. He scored on a seven-yard run taking the handoff from fellow tailback Darren McFadden. He tallied six runs of six yards or more including jaunts of 19, 20, 22 and 58 yards. Four of his nine runs earned first-down yardage. In the process, he eclipsed his season-rushing total of last season and now has 661 yards on 61 carries.

Jones ranks fourth in the SEC and 37th in the nation in rushing yards per game (82.6) and second in the SEC and 20th in the nation in all-purpose yards per game (127.0). This week’s offensive award was the second of the season for Jones who shared Hogwired.com offensive honors with McFadden after the Auburn game.

Dacus turned in his second-consecutive Hogwired.com defensive player of the week performance against ULM. The Searcy, Ark., product earned a team-high 10 tackles, including nine solo stops in the win. Dacus registered two sacks (-12), three quarterback hurries and one forced fumble against the Warhawks. His forced fumble came on a sack in the second quarter.

Grant shared honors with Dacus after becoming the first Razorback in 35 years to haul in three interceptions. The Stone Mountain, Ga., junior became the first Hog since former Razorback defensive back and current UA secondary coach Louis Campbell to net a trio of picks. Campbell snared three interceptions against Tennessee in the 1971 Liberty Bowl. Grant led all Razorback defensive backs with seven tackles including a tackle for a 50-yard loss on an errant ULM punt attempt. Grant and Dacus helped Arkansas limit ULM to 10 points and 114 yards rushing in the win. The duo has also been instrumental in the Razorbacks’ only allowing two touchdowns in the last 14 quarters of play this season.

Junior Chris Houston made his mark on special teams in the Razorbacks’ victory. Houston teamed with punter Jacob Skinner to pin the Warhawks’ inside the one-yard line on back-to-back Arkansas possessions in the second quarter. One the first play, Houston shed a defender eight yards deep in the end zone and sprinted back to the one-yard line to down the punt. He duplicated the feat later in the game setting up a UA safety. Arkansas linebacker Matt Hewitt followed with a tackle in the end zone on the Warhawks’ next offensive play to give the Razorbacks two points. In addition to his special teams’ duty, Houston started at cornerback and earned one tackle.