FAYETTEVILLE -- So much of Grant Morgan's life has been a waiting and chasing game that the dynamo University of Arkansas linebacker went ahead and made a statement about it.
If Morgan moves the left elbow brace he's been sporting since Week 2 out of the way it's right there in ink on his left bicep.
"II Corinthians, 15:7" the tattoo reads.
"Be strong and you will be rewarded," Morgan said to summarize the verse.
The version quoted by his father Matt Morgan, is, "As for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."
After chasing his brother Drew's stellar career but not achieving the same state championships at Greenwood, then chasing and waiting on a scholarship offer as a walk-on at Arkansas, then receiving that scholarship but still chasing substantial playing time, it is now reward time for Morgan.
The 222-pounder, who stands less than 6-feet tall, leads the country with 13 tackles per game heading into Saturday's Southwest Classic at Texas A&M. He is the fourth-highest graded linebacker in the country by Pro Football Focus.
Sure, he's playing with a bum left elbow. But the senior wasn't coming off the field in a taut, suspenseful SEC West showdown with Ole Miss in Arkansas' last game on Oct. 17. Not with his running mate Bumper Pool already out with injury. And certainly not after the Rebels took over at their 16-yard line trailing 26-21 with 3:46 remaining.
Arkansas already had four interceptions off quarterback Matt Corral at that point, but Morgan had shots at two others and didn't bring them in. When Corral stared down Elijah Moore and tried to deliver the ball on a crossing route, Morgan was in position, and this time he capitalized.
Morgan's interception and 23-yard return for a touchdown iced the 33-21 Arkansas victory. It also ended the Razorbacks' 12-game home losing streak in SEC play and sparked an awards week worthy of an Oscar contender.
It also touched off unbridled joy in the football-loving Morgan family.
"I had about six girls in the house and yeah, I tried to bring down the roof," Drew Morgan said. "I mean, he was clutch. There was ice in his veins.
"It was like ... you already dropped two [picks], so maybe a third time is the charm, and by God it couldn't have come at a better time. I'm proud of him. He seized the moment."
Drew Morgan, now coaching in Warner, Okla., was at his house in Fort Smith watching the game.
Matt Morgan was sitting in a cluster of fans with his wife, Grant's wife Sydnie, members of the Pool family and some of Grant's buddies when his son made the return that put a dagger in the Rebels.
"It's just a super proud moment, as you can imagine," Matt Morgan said. "Every parent waits for the moment their kids can make a dramatic impact in the game. Certainly just proud for him and the team and coaches. It was fun."
Morgan's continual chase to make plays like the interception return has been full of peaks and valleys. The bulk of his playing time in 2017 and '18 came on special teams. He played more as a redshirt junior in 2019, tying for fifth on the team with 39 tackles. His real opportunity hit during the long lead up to this season, when he was voted as a defensive captain along with tackle Jonathan Marshall.
When Coach Sam Pittman recently said Morgan's toughness is what he'd like an Arkansas football player to embody, well, that hit home.
"That's a big honor for him to say that just, because I know how hard I worked for this," Morgan said. "I know how hard I've been able to push for things that a lot of people doubted me to do. A lot of people doubted me that I wouldn't be an SEC linebacker.
"They said when I got my shot I wouldn't be able to be here and do the things I did. So, I definitely have, it's not a chip on my shoulder, it's a log on my shoulder I've been carrying. And I'm going to keep it there."
Morgan did not go through contact work the week before the Ole Miss game, though he tried to exchange a green (no-contact) jersey for a red practice jersey each day.
"He's just a tough kid," Pittman said. "He's a Morgan. His brother was the same way and probably his parents. Everybody's tough in the Morgan family.
"You saw him holding that elbow on a play late in the fourth quarter and it didn't stop him from picking a pass and running it back for a touchdown. He's a tough kid. He is Arkansas. That's what he is."
Drew Morgan played with shoulder and collar bone issues while having a big season in 2015 for the last Razorbacks team to finish with a winning SEC record.
"It's innate. That's who God made them to be," Matt Morgan said of his sons' passion for the game. "I think we as parents, both myself and their mom [Annie Shaw] have really just wanted more for our kids. We never let them kind of rest on accomplishing a couple of things, but to just keep pushing them to keep trying and getting better, and life is all about making progress. I think it's just part of the DNA of the Morgans."
Drew Morgan said it was instilled in them that Morgans never quit.
"Grant has said this before it's not a chip on my shoulder, it's a log and I plan on keeping it there," he added. "He's done one-upped me there. I had a chip, but now I guess he's got a log. He's a little bit of a bigger boy, so he can carry that log."
Morgan learned behind a succession of standout linebackers, like Brooks Ellis, Dre Greenlaw and De'Jon Harris.
"We've had some great players in front of Grant his whole time here," Matt Morgan said. "Just as a parent, I've had to counsel myself more than I've had to counsel him, because you just see his productivity on plays and you think, 'Man, if he could just play in a full game.'
"He is a unique kid. I'm clearly biased, but he really is more mature than his age. Yeah, I've had to have some conversations with him about just keep grinding. ... I've always lived by the adage: Don't buy your own press. You've got to keep grinding. He knew his time would come."
Morgan spread the accolades among his teammates after his huge performance against the Rebels.
"All I know as Razorbacks is we want to play and we love to win, but we just love football around here," he said. "We're tough guys and I'm just the average of everybody around me. That's the thing. Everybody's tough around here."
But nobody in the SEC has had a performance like Morgan's 19 tackles, 2 pass breakups, a sack and the interception return for a touchdown against Ole Miss. The acclaims came in droves.
Morgan was named SEC co-defensive player of the week and he won the national player of the week honors given by the Bednarik Award and Nagurski Award. He's a strong candidate for the Burlsworth Trophy, named for ex-Razorback Brandon Burlsworth and given to the nation's best player who began as a walk-on.
Morgan, a graduate student who is pointed toward medical school after his football days, said it hasn't been a problem getting refocused on Texas A&M after his week of awards.
"I'm handling it fine," he said. "I'm not surprised that I was getting this because I've been working super hard, but at the end of the day I'm here for the wins and losses.
"I don't really care about all that other stuff. I'm a team player. If I have zero tackles the rest of the year and we win every single game, I promise you I'll be re-tweeting and posting more about it than what happened this past couple of weeks."
And if he needs a reminder of what's helped him get to this point, Morgan can just glance at his left arm and find that strength.
