Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Already, you've seen a glut of names thrown out there as THE breakout player in the SEC this season.

Here's one to remember and write down: Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams.

As a freshman last season, he caught all of five passes in Houston Nutt's run-oriented scheme that saw Darren McFadden and Felix Jones steal the show. The ironic part is that Williams considered leaving Arkansas and following Nutt to Ole Miss.

In retrospect, he's glad he stayed put. And so should the Razorbacks' fans.

Williams is a natural in Bobby Petrino's offense. He's lining up all over the place and doesn't need to be told that Petrino is a master at creating mismatches.

"It's hard to key on one or two players in this offense," Williams said. "If you do, somebody is always going to be open, and we have ways to get the ball to those players."

That somebody figures to be Williams more times than not this season, although the Hogs have two more tight ends -- Andrew Davie and Ben Cleveland -- that will be big parts of the offense this season.

"D.J. is extremely talented and catches the ball as well as any tight end I've ever been around," Petrino said. "He's very hard to tackle and runs real well after the catch. The thing I like most about him is that he's the guy who wants the ball in the critical situations. On third down and in the red zone, he's wanting his number to be called and wanting the opportunity to make the plays."

The 6-foot-2 Williams was up over 260 pounds at the Cotton Bowl last season, but said he's down around 235 right now.

"We're all on the same page when it comes to reading the defense before a snap count, so we know we need to get our head around quick because the ball's coming," Williams said. "The coaches have done a great job teaching us not just our position, but every position."

Williams' eyes light up when he sees that he's matched against a linebacker, but he doesn't mind seeing a safety, either.

"I'll use my size against safeties and my speed against linebackers," he said.