Arkansas kick returner Dennis Johnson returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown Saturday against South Carolina in the Razorbacks 44-28 win. Photo by Contessa Shew.

Arkansas junior running back Dennis Johnson and senior defensive end Jake Bequette earned Southeastern Conference weekly awards for their performances in the Razorbacks’ 44-28 win over No. 9 South Carolina.

Johnson was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week for his 98-yard kick return for a touchdown in the first quarter, while Bequette earned SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors for his three sacks and forced fumble.

“I think they both did a really nice job,” Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. “Obviously the kickoff return for a touchdown was huge for Dennis and he had another nice return. Was a big, big part of the win.

“Then Jake, the way he played, not only the three sacks and the forced fumble, but how hard he played and how disruptive he was the entire game to their quarterback.”

Johnson is the SEC’s active leader in kick return yards and his return was the third kickoff return for a touchdown in his career. He finished the game with 252 all-purpose yards and has averaged 189 all-purpose yards the last three games.

“Something that we’ve been working hard with Dennis is the consistency,” Petrino said. “Consistency in your approach throughout the week. I think he’s worked extremely hard at that and I think Coach Horton’s done a really nice job with him on just coming to work each day, have a good attitude, a smile on your face and go out and work hard.”

His return was the fourth special teams touchdown for the Hogs this season.

Freshman receiver Marquel Wade returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown against New Mexico, while senior receiver Joe Adams returned two punts for touchdowns in the season opener against Missouri State.

“To be able to have four touchdowns in special teams is huge,” Petrino said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a year where we’ve had that many on special teams.”

Bequette recorded the three sacks after entering the game with just two this season. The preseason first-team All-SEC selection had struggled to recover from a hamstring injury suffered Sept. 10 against New Mexico.

“It felt good to go out there and make some plays on the edge,” Bequette said. “It was definitely the best I’ve felt since the New Mexico game. I’m still getting there, but I definitely felt more like myself.”

Arkansas had struggled to generate an effective pass rush prior to Saturday, entering the game ranked No. 11 in the SEC, averaging just 1.38 sacks per game.

The Razorbacks sacked Gamecocks quarterback Connor Shaw five times. Bequette’s final sack forced a fumble that led to a touchdown and knocked Shaw out of the game with a concussion.

“Our d-line played well,” Petrino said. “They played fast and physical. We got after them all week long about we’re getting better, we’re improving now it’s time to put it all together … Jake is back to full speed. His injury was a bad injury. He just hung in there and kept getting better. He wasn’t the same player his first couple games back, but certainly we saw Jake Bequette the other night.”