Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

Arkansas senior defensive end Jake Bequette was a star, both on and off the field, for the Arkansas Razorback football team during his career.
 
A native of Little Rock, Ark., Bequette graduated from Arkansas in three years with a degree in finance. A second-team Capital One Academic All-American in 2011, Bequette pursued a graduate degree in sports management and held a 3.33 GPA. Twice, Bequette was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and the U of A’s Athletic Director’s List, which recognizes student-athletes that post a GPA between 3.50 and 3.99 in a semester.
 
On the field, Bequette continued a long family tradition of playing football for the Razorbacks. His father Jay played from 1980-82, his uncle Chris from 1984-87 and his grandfather George from 1954-56, including a trip to the 1955 Cotton Bowl against Georgia Tech.
 
A first-team All-SEC selection by the SEC coaches as a senior, Bequette led the Razorback defense with 8.0 sacks and ranked second in the SEC and seventh nationally with 0.89 sacks per game (8.0 in nine games as a senior). Bequette was second in the SEC and seventh in the country with 0.44 forced fumbles per game. A finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, Bequette also added four quarterback hurries, which tied for third on the team.
 
Bequette played in 47 games, including 41 starts for the Hogs. Bequette’s 21.5 sacks in his career led all active SEC players and ranked third on Arkansas’ all-time career sacks list. He also added 137 tackles, with 29.5 tackles for loss. In addition he had 23 quarterback hurries in his career and forced seven fumbles, while recovering three fumbles.
 
Bequette was part of a senior class that posted a 34-17 record in their career and appeared in three consecutive bowl games.