FAYETTEVILLE — Drew Morgan’s confidence has never been in doubt and heading into Alabama it could be at an all-time high.
The junior wide receiver has turned in back-to-back 100-yard games, including a 5-catch, 110-yard performance in Arkansas’ 24-20 win over Tennessee.
Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said he had an idea he would play well before kickoff last Saturday.
“It was a little bit overcast, a little chill in the air and I go out to pregame warm ups, (Morgan) had his shirt off with his gear on out there running,” Bielema said. “He was feeling confident. To me, that’s great.”
With the injuries to Keon Hatcher, Cody Hollister and Jared Cornelius, Morgan has been thrust into a No. 1 role, but that hasn’t changed the way he approaches the game.
In fact, he has even played some special teams because of his blocking ability.
“He’s a guy that’s so dependable, I just have a hard time to getting him as involved as much I possibly can,” Bielema said. “I couldn’t be happier with him.”
Morgan’s versatility was on display in Knoxville as he also took a handoff on a sweep play and gained eight yards, setting up Alex Collins’ 4-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter.
The play was designed for receiver Damon Mitchell, but Morgan took advantage of the opportunity.
“That brings back high school memories,” Morgan said. “I like doing them, but they’re meant for Duwop. It was a personnel issue and I was like, ‘Here we go. I got the ball.’”
With his performances against Texas A&M and Tennessee, Morgan became just the third player in UA history with his first two 100-yard receiving games in back-to-back weeks. The others were Mike Reppond in 1971 and Boo Williams in 2000.
However, he understands that he won’t be able to sustain that production as teams start to game plan for him.
Morgan saw a little of that against Tennessee, including on Dominique Reed’s 33-yard touchdown catch.
“I think defenses will start keying in (on me), which will give other guys opportunities, like Dominique Reed,” Morgan said. “Tennessee keyed in on me on one of the post routes because they saw what I did on Texas Tech and they left him plum wide open, so he got the ball and scored.”
The Razorbacks’ next opponent will make it even harder for Morgan to continue putting up big numbers. Alabama is allowing only 189.4 passing yards per game, which is better than any team Arkansas has played thus far.
“I’ve always told my dad that I love big games because there’s more people that are watching,” Morgan said. “I like the feeling of everybody’s eyes on that one person at that one time, or that one play at that one time.”