Courtesy of Hunter Corneliusen
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the fifth time in the previous six years, Arkansas placed multiple players on the Freshman All-SEC teams, with offensive lineman Kobe Branham and kicker Scott Starzyk getting the nod from the league’s coaches.
Branham appeared in all 12 games while making 11 starts during his redshirt freshman campaign in 2025. The Fort Smith, Ark., product was part of an Arkansas offensive line that blocked for 5,102 yards of total offense and paved the way for six games of 500+ yards of total offense during the 2025 season. Additionally, Branham and the Hogs allowed 29 sacks, which was the fewest by an Arkansas team since 2019 (19 sacks). He played a big role in blocking for Mike Washington Jr., who rushed for 1,070 total yards, becoming the Razorbacks’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Raheim “Rocket” Sanders in 2022.
Starzyk made an immediate impact as a true freshman in 2025, connecting on 14 of 18 field goal attempts while making all 47 extra-point attempts to score a team-leading 89 points. His 14 field goals made were the fourth-most by a Razorback freshman in program history and most since Cam Little’s 20 made field goals in 2021. Starzyk’s 77.8 percent field goal percentage is also the fourth-best among a Razorback freshman kicker since at least 1977. The Woodlands, Texas, native made multiple field goals in four of the Hogs’ 12 games this season. In the season opener against Alabama A&M, Starzyk set an Arkansas freshman record with a 53-yard field goal during a 52-7 victory, becoming just the 12th kicker in program history to make a field goal of 50 or more yards.
The pair of freshmen join OL Fernando Carmona (2nd team), DL Quincy Rhodes Jr. (2nd team), and RB Mike Washington Jr. (2nd team) as Razorbacks to earn All-SEC honors from the league’s coaches this week.
