O'Grady gives Razorbacks much-needed spark from tight end position
FAYETTEVILLE - Finally, new Arkansas Coach Chad Morris got the spark he sought from Cheyenne O’Grady instead of the cloud benching the junior tight end and graduate of Fayetteville High School.
In and out of the disciplinary doghouse during his three years under the Bret Bielema regime, O’Grady began his 2018 tenure under new Coach Morris on disciplinary suspension the season’s first two games and no stats while playing off the bench the next two for the now 1-4 Hogs.
But, in last Saturday’s 24-17 close but no cigar SEC loss to the 3-touchdown favored Texas A&M, O’Grady excelled. The 6-4, 251-pounder with good speed and soft hands caught three Ty Storey passes for 77 yards. His first, a 36-yard reception, ignited Arkansas’ 75-yard second-quarter touchdown drive after the Aggies had jumped to a 17-0 lead.
“C.J. O'Grady gave us the spark,” Morris said during Saturday’s postgame in Arlington, Texas. “A great pass with Ty and it lifted us. It gave these guys confidence.”
Off Morris’ Monday press conference, the Arkansas coach was still sparking O’Grady’ game leading into Tuesday’s practice as the Razorbacks, 0-2 in the SEC West, prepare to host the nationally No. 1 5-0 reigning national champion Alabama Crimson Tide at 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN television at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
“It was good to see C.J. O’Grady coming in and having success and providing a spark,” Morris said. “That was much needed. We all know he’s extremely talented. But it’s the little things. He focused a lot on the little things last week and obviously that result continued to pay off during Saturday’s game.”
It’s always been the little things that have kept O’Grady consistently doing the big things he’s capable of doing. And it has been since high school says, Arkansas senior linebacker and FHS grad Dre Greenlaw.
“He's definitely turned the corner in the last couple of weeks," Greenlaw was quoted after the A&M game. "He's made huge improvements. I thank him for that, for coming on and being part of the team. Getting himself right and having a big game like he did today. I talked to him afterwards. He was sitting there crying, but I told him, 'We need you.' I think he understands that. Hopefully, we won't have more problems out of him."
Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock had an all week inkling that O’Grady might post a breakthrough game.
“This last week was his best week from Monday through Saturday,” Craddock said. “And that’s something that we have encouraged C.J. on. That he’s got to be more consistent being that guy, a guy more mature. His play on Saturday was a direct reflection on his week and how that led to the game.”
That was was much positive off the field as on,” Craddock said.
“He did everything last week that was on the positive report at study hall,” Craddock said. “All those things lead up to doing the right thing on the field. You do the right things off the field it’s a direct correlation on the field.”
Of course one great week does not a season make.
“I’m not ready to put him on a pedestal just yet,” Craddock said. “I’m hoping he’ll do the right things because obviously you’ve seen what kind of a weapon he can be with the ball in his hands. He’s a guy that we’ve got our arm around. We’ve got to kind of pull him through a knothole and make sure we get him to the game on Saturdays and make sure he’s doing the right things off the field in all the right way so that will correlate on the field as well.”
It’s a surprise like O’Grady that Arkansas sprung on the Aggies that allows Alabama Coach Nick Saban to call Saturday’s contest potentially “a little trap game” for his Tide though favored by 33 after rolling 51-14, 57-7, 63-7, 45-23 and 56-14 over Louisville, Arkansas State, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and the University of LouisianaLafayette.