Morris looks to move forward past ‘unacceptable’ first season with Hogs
FAYETTEVILLE — First-year Arkansas head football coach Chad Morris’ assessment of “unacceptable” of Arkansas’ 52-6 loss on Nov. 10 at Mississippi State applies for the entire season.
The Razorbacks finished 2-10 overall and 0-8 in the Southeastern Conference in their first year under Morris. The coach wrapped up the season Thursday in Fayetteville.
“It’s obviously a very disappointing season,” Morris said. “It’s nowhere close to our standard. It’s not acceptable. We know that. I know that. Our players know that.
“There is not one person in this building that thinks any part of this season is acceptable. And everyone is working tirelessly every day to get this program back.”
Morris said the work focuses on developing those players returning and nonstop recruiting ahead of the Dec. 19 start of the early signing period.
Between scholarship signees and preferred walk-ons, Morris anticipates adding up to 29 players to the 2019 fall roster and anticipates 12 enrolling in January for the spring semester as December high school graduates or junior college or graduate transfers. New enrollees would be able to go through the offseason workout program and spring practice.
“We’ve got to recruit players to come in here and make a major impact when they step on campus,” Morris said. “And we’re doing that. We’re doing that at a very high level right now. We’ve got coaches on the road right now as we speak. There are no days off as our coaches are on the road recruiting.”
Morris said he was scheduled to hit the recruiting road “immediately” after Thursday’s press conference.
It’s been anticipated that one of the eight home visits Morris said he planned this week would be to Kelly Bryant, the former Clemson starting quarterback who has declared himself to be a graduate transfer in 2019 and has visited several schools, including Arkansas and Auburn.
Morris recruited Bryant when he was the offensive coordinator at Clemson.
Underclassmen attrition will contribute to the roster overhaul. The process began during the season and will continue through the offseason.
Redshirt freshman running back Maleek Williams, of Punta Gorda, Fla., posted on Twitter Thursday that he will transfer at the semester.
“This is one of the biggest decisions I’ve made in my young life,” Williams tweeted. “I’m parting ways ways with the University of Arkansas and I will be enrolling at another school next semester.”
Williams posted he always will support the Hogs and teammates he calls his “bros” and has “a huge appreciation for the great state of Arkansas and the people who call Arkansas home.”
Redshirted in 2017 by the Bret Bielema regime that recruited him, Williams (5-11, 223) was fourth on the team at running back behind Rakeem Boyd, Devwah Whaley and Chase Hayden, all eligible to return in 2019.
Williams did net 144 yards on 27 carries for this season. He netted 68 on Arkansas’ lone touchdown late in its 44-17 loss to North Texas (9-3, 5-3 Conference USA) in Fayetteville.
“We’ve had some that have chosen to move on, and we want to wish them the best,” Morris said. “If we can help them in any way, we’ll be more than happy to.”
Morris was asked about the intentions of third-year sophomore quarterback Cole Kelley, the starter at the season’s outset. Kelley did not travel with the team for the final two games and worked as a scout-team tight end in the final week of practice.
“I anticipate talking to him quickly,” Morris said. “I do anticipate there will probably be some changing.”
Morris said tight end Austin Cantrell still intends to move on with the program. The married graduate has a season of eligibility remaining, but he participated in the team’s senior day ceremonies in the final home game.
The coach disclosed Boyd and outside linebacker Hayden Henry have undergone shoulder surgery since the season’s end and that cornerback Britto Tutt underwent knee surgery.
Starting defensive backs Ryan Pulley and Kamren Curl, suspended for disciplinary reasons before the 38-0 loss finishing the season at Missouri (8-4, 4-4), participated in Monday’s team meeting, Morris said.
Juniors Pulley, defensive end Sosa Agim and linebacker Scoota Harris are anticipated to explore the options allowed by the NCAA to get NFL evaluations regarding the 2019 spring NFL Draft to weigh returning pro or returning for their senior year.
“With Sosa, Scoota and Pulley, it’s our job to educate and provide them as much information as they need to make a decision what’s best for them,” Morris said. “We want to support them in that decision.”
Morris commented favorably on veteran defensive coordinator John Chavis exercising his contract option to coordinate the Razorbacks defense in 2019 and 2020.
For Arkansas’ 2018 junior holdovers from the previous Bret Bielema regime, Chavis was their third defensive coordinator in three years.
“We look at coach Chavis and what he’s done and the improvements that we’ve made,” Morris said. “We’ve got to have more, but continuity is so much a part of success. I think continuity is the biggest thing getting coach Chavis back in here.”
Morris acknowledged that the uptempo offense he instigated during last spring’s practices purposely slowed the pace with the reality of team shortcomings once the games began.
“We tried to establish the foundation for doing that,” Morris said. “As you got into the season and realized where your strengths were, where your deficiencies were, you had to at that point adjust and adapt. We didn’t go nearly as fast as we want to go or play near the tempo we wanted to play. We will continue to work on that.”
It was remarked during Thursday’s press conference that Arkansas appeared to make improvements during the season before closing with the losses at Mississippi State and Missouri by a combined score of 90-6.
“We didn’t finish,” Morris said. “I think the loss against Ole Miss took the wind out of our sails. As much as I don’t want to admit that, I think it took some wind out.”
From improving in the weight room, to hitting the books for final exams to living the culture that Morris said has been set, it continues now, Morris said.
“We’re not starting over,” Morris asserted. “We’re continuing with what we established.”