Williams in line for Sullivan

Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams is a finalist for the Sullivan Award, presented to the best amateur athlete in the country.
Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams is a finalist for the Sullivan Award, presented to the best amateur athlete in the country.

— Former Arkansas tight end D.J.Williams has been selected as one of 12 semifinalists for the AAU Sullivan Award.

Williams is the first University of Arkansas athlete to be selected as a semifinalist. The Sullivan Award, founded in 1930, is given to the nation’s top amateur athlete. It will be awarded in New York on March 14.

Williams, of Little Rock, won the Disney Spirit Award as college football’s most inspirational player and the Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end this fall.

Williams, who is training in south Florida for next week’s NFL Scouting Combine, could not be reached for comment.

He helped lead the Razorbacks to a 10-3 record as a senior and the program’s first Bowl Championship Series appearance, a 31-26 loss to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.

Williams caught a team high 54 passes for 627 yards and 4 touchdowns last season, and earned first-team All-SEC honors as selected by conference coaches and The Associated Press.

Williams joins Blair Brown, Penn State volleyball; Jimmer Fredette, Brigham Young basketball; Robert Hoadley, North Carolina-Greensboro golf; Regina Jaquess, USA water skiing; Alix Klineman, Stanford volleyball; Evan Lysacek, USA figure skating; Maya Moore, Connecticut basketball; Cam Newton, Auburn football; Elena Pirozhkova, USA wrestling; Tanhee Robinson, Nevada basketball, and Karrissa Wiberley, USA baton twirling, as this year’s semifinalists.

The Sullivan Award, named after James E. Sullivan, was first awarded to golfer Bobby Jones. Sullivan was the founder and a past president of the Amateur Athletic Union.

Only five previous winners have been college football players: Tim Tebow (Florida, 2007), Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997), Charlie Ward (Florida State, 1993), Arnold Tucker (Army, 1946), and Felix “Doc” Blanchard (Army, 1945).

Online voting for the Sullivan Award, via USA Today, can be found via a link on the award’s Web site at www.aausullivan.org.

Sports, Pages 17 on 02/18/2011

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