End-of-year awards: Reviewing Arkansas football's 8-4 season
Arkansas' 2021 regular season is in the books, and it was the best one in years. There is still football to be played; the Razorbacks will find out their bowl placement on Dec. 5. But first, a look back at the 8-4 season and the moments and players that made it.
Here are six superlatives and awards for the 2021 Razorbacks.
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Best Quote: Sam Pittman on Mississippi State win
Immediately following Arkansas' 31-28 win over Mississippi State, which made Arkansas bowl eligible, Pittman said he felt like the Razorbacks had just won the Super Bowl. But that's not the quote of the year. The perfect quote came the Monday after the win, as Pittman met the media ahead of a game against LSU:
"I don't know what a Super Bowl feeling is. I don't. I know what winning the Rose Bowl is like, and I know what playing in a national championship game and those things are like. ... If you were in our locker room, it can't get a whole lot better than what it did. ... When we reach a goal, we're going to celebrate it."
That quote encapsulates the energy of this season. Arkansas met so many of its goals, including winning all three of its regular-season trophy games for the first time ever. Pittman gave fans something to celebrate this season, and for the time being, that's a Super Bowl feeling.
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Biggest win: Texas A&M
About five of Arkansas' eight wins this season can be considered big. They broke losing streaks, stirred the SEC pot and gave fans plenty to brag about. But the Texas A&M win feels the biggest. A&M finished the season with an identical record to Arkansas, including a shocking win over Alabama. Beating the Aggies for the first time in 11 years proved that the win over Texas hadn't been a fluke (and Texas didn't live up to expectations by the end of the season). It was the first of Arkansas' three trophy wins, and the one that, looking back, would have been the hardest to get. That win at AT&T Stadium set the expectation for the rest of the year, and Arkansas largely lived up to that expectation.
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Newcomer of the year: K Cam Little
Cam Little has achieved as a true freshman what some kickers chase their whole careers: cult hero status. "Little Cam," as Pittman affectionately called him, has made 82% of his field goals this season. He made three of four attempts and hit his career-long, a 51-yarder, against Mississippi State. His big moment, though, was against LSU. He was a perfect 3-for-3 in Death Valley, including a 37-yarder in overtime to give Arkansas the 16-13 win and the Golden Boot. He said after the game it was his first-ever game-winner, and he executed it beautifully.
Offensive player of the year: WR Treylon Burks
Who else? Burks' season has been historic. Against Missouri, he became just the fourth Razorback ever to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season. He set the program record for most games in a season with 100-plus receiving yards (six). He caught exactly half of Arkansas' receiving touchdowns in the regular season. What he has brought to Arkansas in terms of production alone makes him irreplaceable.
Defensive player of the year: LB Hayden Henry
Arkansas' three standout linebackers — Henry, Bumper Pool and Grant Morgan — have been invaluable in terms of both leadership and defensive prowess. Call it recency bias, since he was all over the field against Missouri last week, but Henry has quietly had the best season of the three. Pool leads the team in tackles with 120 and has been a force at LB. But Henry leads the team in tackles for loss (10.5 for 41 yards), solo tackles (47) and quarterback hurries (seven). Add three sacks, and he's been a major contributor in just about every stat column a linebacker can.
MVP: QB KJ Jefferson
Arkansas has been without a consistent quarterback since the Allen brothers of the mid-2010s. KJ Jefferson's performance this season, of course helped by wide receiver Treylon Burks, has been the spark for the entire team. Jefferson's ability to turn what looked like a doomed play into a gain or take the ball himself has saved Arkansas drives countless times.
Pittman said it best after Arkansas' loss to Alabama: "I wouldn't trade him. As a character and a player.... Look at the first game to now, consecutive weeks with how he's played. I'm glad he's our quarterback."
Christina Long covers the Arkansas Razorbacks. You can email her at clong@swtimes.com or follow her on Twitter @christinalong00.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Best moments and players of Arkansas football's 2021 season
