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FAYETTEVILLE -- Tulsa receiver A.J. Whitmore couldn’t wait for Saturday.

All week, he looked forward to playing against the Razorbacks, the team he grew up watching and cheering for while living in Nashville.

Whitmore wasn’t alone. Tulsa has four other players from Arkansas that shared similar feelings — fullback Charles Clay (Little Rock), offensive lineman Jared Grigg (Hindsville), fullback Victor Pongonis (Springdale) and receiver Slick Shelley (Fort Smith).

Whitmore, who had eight carries for 38 yards on Saturday, said he had “butterflies in his stomach” when he walked on Frank Broyles Field for the first time before the game.

“Growing up, everybody wanted to be a Razorback,” said Whitmore, who won a state championship as Nashville’s quarterback in 2005. “It was good just getting a chance to come back and play (in Arkansas). It felt good having everybody from my hometown here to come watch me play.”

Clay, who totaled 148 yards of offense and two touchdowns, said Saturday’s atmosphere in Razorback Stadium was something he’ll never forget.

“It was so loud, I’m not going to forget that,” said Clay, who played at Little Rock Central. “Me, A.J. and Slick were all looking forward to this game — it was just good to come back home.”

Gus Malzahn, Tulsa’s offensive coordinator and former coach at Shiloh Christian and Springdale High, acknowledged that Saturday was special for all of Tulsa’s players from Arkansas, but also very disappointing the Golden Hurricane lost the game.

“They grew up in this state, they all grew up watching the Hogs,” Malzahn said. “It was probably pretty special. But obviously at this point, it’s just sad at the end that you come this close (to winning). I’m sure they’re all facing a lot of disappointment.”

Festivity Saturday

There was more than a football game going on Saturday afternoon.

Before the game, Arkansas’ senior football players were individually honored for their playing time with the Razorbacks.

“Wonderful, wonderful,” Arkansas senior Ernest Mitchell said. “Anytime you win, it’s a great feeling. But this was even better because this was our last time running through the ‘A.’ Hopefully, everybody feels the same, all our seniors.”

During halftime, this year’s homecoming court was also introduced at midfield, including homecoming queen Paige Daniel, who’s from De Queen.

The Razorback Marching Band also introduced its senior members and allowed the small group to perform Arkansas’ fight song by itself as a tribute to its

New Scholarships

Two new scholarships that were created in honor of Bill Ferrell and Dean Weber were awarded to five students Saturday morning at the University House.

The scholarship honoring Ferrell, longtime athletic trainer and baseball coach, was created by the Razorback Foundation and Jim Lindsey. Weber, another longtime athletic trainer who is now the director of equipment operations for the athletic department, had a scholarship named after him in 2006 by seniors from the 1979 Razorback football team.

Recipients of the scholarships were Robyn Meyers (Weber and Ferrell Scholarships), Austin Kerkhover (Ferrell), Takao Konda (Ferrell), Sheena White (Ferrell) and Anna McCain (Ferrell).