FAYETTEVILLE -- University of Arkansas offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt and linebacker De'Jon Harris were the only Razorbacks to earn All-SEC designations Monday.
Froholdt, a senior guard, and Harris, a junior middle linebacker, were named second team All-SEC by a 28-member panel chosen by The Associated Press.
Harris, the SEC's tackle leader with 118, picked up second-team honors for the second consecutive year.
Froholdt, of Svenborg, Denmark, started all 12 games and played a team-high 815 offensive snaps. He did not allow a sack in 440 pass blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, which also gave him a 90.0 grade, the fourth-highest among SEC linemen. Froholdt did not allow a sack the past two seasons.
Harris, of Harvey, La., also leads the SEC with 62 solo tackles. He had 115 tackles in 2017, making him the first Razorback with back-to-back 100-tackle seasons since Jerry Franklin did it every year from 2008-2011.
No. 1 Alabama (13-0) had a league-best five first-team All-SEC selections, led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is also the SEC offensive player of the year.
Kentucky pulled down two of the individual awards, as linebacker Josh Allen was the league's defensive player of the year and Mark Stoops was voted coach of the year.
Vanderbilt running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn was selected as the league's newcomer of the year.
Tagovailoa and Ole Miss receiver A.J. Brown were unanimous selections on the offense, and Allen was the lone unanimous choice on defense.
Bryant touts
Clemson co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach Jeff Scott and receiver Hunter Renfrow were highly complimentary of quarterback Kelly Bryant, who transferred out after four games and is announcing where he will play his final season today.
The Razorbacks are among his list of finalists, along with Auburn, Missouri, North Carolina and Mississippi State.
"Kelly is a special young man," said Scott, who is a finalist for the Broyles Award, which will be announced today in Little Rock. "He's a great talent as a quarterback, but he's a better young man. High character. We're very proud of him and know he'll do a great job wherever he chooses."
Bryant lost his starting job to freshman Trevor Lawrence after four games. Bryant's decision to transfer gave Renfrow periodic practice time in the quarterback rotation for the Tigers.
"Kelly's a great guy," Renfrow said. "I've got nothing but respect for him. He always did everything the right way. I think he'd be a great fit at Arkansas, but it's really up to him where he goes.
"Whoever gets him, they're going to get a great guy, a great quarterback and a good teammate."
Talking Chavis
Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said he spoke with defensive coordinator John Chavis, who notified Yurachek on Nov. 21 that he was exercising the option in his contract to stay on for two more years.
"He said there's only one time he left a sitting head coach, and that was Les Miles at LSU," Yurachek said. "But he kind of felt like there was change imminent and getting ready to happen.
"He's unbelievably loyal. I think that's part of the culture he comes from, his background, his lineage. He wants to see this through. I think he's seen a lot in his 35-plus years of coaching. I don't think he would stay if he really didn't think we could get it done here. He truly believes we've got some unfinished business and we're heading in the right direction."
Chavis will be the Razorbacks' first $1 million assistant coach in 2019 with a salary of $1.5 million.
Mad about Chad
Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott gave Arkansas Coach Chad Morris, the Clemson offensive coordinator from 2011-2014, a shoutout during his time at the Burlsworth Trophy ceremony on Monday in Springdale.
"Chad's a close friend of mine," Scott said. "I learned a lot from Chad the years he was at Clemson. Whenever he left, he had really prepared Tony Elliott and myself to take over the offense. For that I'll always be grateful."
Scott was asked what advice he'd have for Arkansas fans wondering whether Morris can turn around the Hogs after his 2-10 debut season.
"No. 1, he wouldn't be at Arkansas if it wasn't broke," Scott said. "There's obviously some things that are going to take time to fix.
"But what I know about Chad is he's a winner. He's been a winner everywhere that he's been. I was able to see him come into Clemson when we were getting a little bit stale on offense and he really turned it for us. Not only with his offensive system, but also with his energy that he brought."
Hunter to Hunter
Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek, who was on the dais and had the opportunity to speak for a few minutes at the Burlsworth Trophy ceremony Monday, talked about watching Clemson receiver Hunter Renfrow playing against his son Ryan's prep team in coastal South Carolina a few years back.
Renfrow had 3 carries for 163 yards and 3 touchdowns in the game, Yurachek said, prompting him to wonder why his coach, and father, didn't call his number more often.
"But I'm glad they didn't," Yurachek said.
Gotta play
Burlsworth Trophy winner Hunter Renfrow of Clemson drew a big laugh while giving a little dig to his position coach, Jeff Scott, who was in the audience at Monday's Burlsworth Trophy presentation in Springdale.
"Coach Scott was a walk-on at Clemson, and he was asking why he wasn't invited to this ceremony [during his career]," Renfrow told the crowd. "I said, 'You have to play.' "
Challenging time
Former Arkansas head coach Ken Hatfield just completed his first year on the College Football Playoff selection committee, and the former Razorback great talked about the experience Monday, one day after returning from the committee's final meeting in Grapevine, Texas.
"The first year was a fun, exciting, challenging time," Hatfield said. "It was great being able to see teams and coaches and styles of football from around the nation, and really having access to an iPad that has pretty much every game in America.
"I really enjoyed that just to see how people were doing. That was a fun event. Just very proud to be part of it."
Sports on 12/04/2018