Skipper grows into 6-10 frame
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dan Skipper has worn three numbers as an Arkansas Razorback and played three positions on the offensive line, but one thing has remained constant for the senior from Arvada, Colo.
Whether Skipper has worn No. 76, No. 63 or No. 70 or played left guard, left tackle or right tackle, he’s started 46 games in a row.
Skipper entered the starting lineup at left guard as a true freshman in time for Arkansas’ SEC opener against Skipper
Texas A&M in 2013. He’ll make his 47th consecutive start, playing left tackle as he has all season, when the Razorbacks play Virginia Tech on Thursday in the Belk Bowl.
“I don’t want to sit out anything,” Skipper said.
Arkansas offensive line coach Kurt Anderson said the starting streak, especially “in the trenches in this league,” says a lot about Skipper’s determination and toughness.
“Everyone’s going to get banged up, but he pushes through things,” Anderson said. “I think it goes back to Day 1, when you first start playing the game of football and if you really love the game and you play the game hard, good things are going happen for you.
“I think Dan is the consummate example of hard work and extreme effort.”
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said Skipper’s performance has peaked in his senior season, which is why he was voted first-team AllSEC by the conference’s coaches and media and was a second-team All-American pick by the American Football Coaches Association.
“I thought he made a huge jump as a player this year,” Bielema said. “He wasn’t just a guy out there running around, pushing people around, making the officials frustrated, the other team. “He’s a complete player.” Skipper said being voted an All-American by the coaches is especially gratifying.
“Having the coaches respect me that much is a huge honor,” he said. “It was very unexpected, but a very cool thing.”
Skipper, 6-10 and 320 pounds, no longer is plagued by penalties as he was at times earlier in his career, especially flags for unsportsmanlike conduct that caused him to change numbers in hopes of making a fresh start.
The past two seasons Skipper has worn No. 70 and said he no longer feels liked a marked man by officials.
Skipper’s personal life is more settled, too, after he and Mackenzie Moore became engaged in August.
“I’m a completely different person,” Skipper said. “Really, the growth happened off the field. A lot of people put in a lot of time with me.
“Finding the important things, playing for the right reasons. That’s what’s helped me become a better person.”
Anderson, hired at Arkansas in January after being an NFL assistant for the three previous seasons, said he worked with Skipper to channel his emotions the right way.
“What I tried to do when I first got here was to have him understand where the emotion part of the game comes into play and how to bottle it,” Anderson said. “You can’t get too high. You can’t get too low.
“I think as he’s progressed, he’s understood. I challenged him to become a leader and I think he did a great job of that.”
Skipper was elected a team captain before the season.
“That really put his accountability at a whole other level in terms of not having a silly penalty here and there, stuff that maybe showed up in his past,” Anderson said. “I think he’s going to be a great example for what senior leadership is about for years to come.”
Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen said there’s no player he’d want protecting his blind side more than Skipper.
“Skip is Mr. Dependable at left tackle,” Allen said. “I know what we’re going to get from him every single play.”
Anderson said it’s no surprise Skipper received postseason honors voted on by coaches.
“When you watch the film, you recognize that he’s doing things that he’s taught to do and executes his technique,” Anderson said. “You see a
6-10 guy get out in space and move and block and play as hard as he does, how can you not respect that?”
Dan Enos, in his second year as Arkansas’ offensive coordinator, said Anderson deserves a lot of credit for Skipper’s improvement.
“I see a guy that’s played with much better balance, played quicker, and is on his feet a lot more,” Enos said.
Sophomore left guard Hjalte Froholdt has started next to Skipper every game this season.
“You see a lot of talent on every single team,” Froholdt said, “but Dan’s care factor is out the window. It’s insane.
“I’m talking about his care factor for the team and how we do during the game, before the game, after the game. Everything has to be perfect for him.
“That’s why Dan grades out at 90 [percent] every game. That’s why he blocks some of the best defensive ends in the country that we’ve played against in the SEC.”
Skipper said playing for Anderson has accelerated his progress.
“He brought so much knowledge from the NFL,” Skipper said, “that going through the spring and coming into fall camp I already felt leaps and bounds ahead of where I’d been.
“He brought some new sets and different angles to keep guys off balance that I think has helped me a lot.”
Anderson said he expects Skipper — who has accepted an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Game — to be on an NFL roster next season and play multiple positions as he has at Arkansas.
Skipper has made 25 starts at left tackle, 13 at right tackle and 8 at left guard.
“Dan already prepares like a pro,” Anderson said. “So somebody’s going to love him in camp because of how hard he works.”
Skipper said he’s excited about a shot to play in the NFL, but he isn’t approaching the Belk Bowl as an audition for pro scouts.
“I’m not worried about the league right now,” he said. “I’ll let people in higher places decide that.
“I’ll just go out there and play.”