Morris’ offense takes stage
Coach promises uptempo Red-White game in Little Rock.
Chad Morris has shifted into overdrive trying to sell his full-tilt boogie approach to football recruits for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Today is a prime chance to pitch his personality, style and schemes to the home-state fans and a TV audience on the SEC Network. The Razorbacks will conduct their annual Red-White game at 1 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
A week ago, Morris encouraged fans to flock to the game, which features free admission, saying: “We’re expecting it to be a packed house.”
That was before the weather forecast came into focus. The high temperature for the early afternoon in central Arkansas is projected around 45 degrees. There is very little
chance for rain, and the skies are expected to be partly cloudy with a breeze topping out at 13 miles per hour.
No matter the conditions, the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville will look to put on a show with its new offense in the team’s first spring game in Little Rock since 1988.
“They’re about to see a show from the Bomb Squad,” said senior receiver Jonathan Nance, referencing the nickname the Hogs’ receiving crew has given itself. “All of us, we’re ready. We’re going deep.”
Morris has promised the offense today will be reflective of his uptempo Spread attack.
“You’re going to see us playing fast Saturday,” Morris said. “Heck, I’m going to try to set a record for the most plays you can possibly run in a spring game. We’re going to play fast. We’re going to have fun.”
Asked whether the Razorbacks were ready to break a record for plays in a spring game, receiver La’Michael Pettway replied: “Up for it? We should be, as much conditioning as we’ve done.”
Offensive guard Johnny Gibson, who has lost 20 pounds since early January, said he’s ready to give it a go.
“The tempo is not easy, but we go out there and work at it every day, and we’re getting better at it and better at working when we’re tired,” Gibson said. “He always says we’ve got to learn to play when you’re tired. He always says ‘Start fast, fight and finish empty,’ so that’s what we’ve got to do.”
Junior Ty Storey and sophomore Cole Kelley will be the featured quarterbacks, though all six quarterbacks on the roster likely will get work in a format that will be ones vs. ones and so on. The scoring format will be standard for touchdowns and field goals, but the defense will have opportunities to score for threeand-outs, sacks and other special plays.
“You’re going to see some good on good,” Morris said. “That’s what we want. That’s what we’ve done all spring. We’re not going to change it up.”
Morris doesn’t intend to showcase a lot of the nuances of his offensive schemes, saying the approach will be “very, very vanilla,” but on the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator John Chavis has been given free reign to unleash all the pressure packages he wants.
Morris said a group of established, veteran players will put in brief appearances and come out of the game. He did not name the players in that group, but among those for whom that could apply are defensive veterans Dre Greenlaw, De’Jon Harris, T.J. Smith, Randy Ramsey, Santos Ramirez and Ryan Pulley, and offensive players such as linemen Hjalte Froholdt, Brian Wallace, Johnny Gibson and Colton Jackson; tight ends Austin Cantrell and Cheyenne O’Grady; receiver Jared Cornelius; and running back Devwah Whaley.
Defensive lineman McTelvin Agim, who will attend a family funeral, will be among a handful of players unavailable for the game.
The Razorbacks are holding the Red-White game in Little Rock for a couple of reasons. The first is an effort by Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek and the department to restrengthen the program’s ties to Little Rock and the other quadrants of the state after tension the past several years.
The Razorbacks drew an announced crowd of 36,055 to last year’s season opener at War Memorial Stadium against Florida A&M. The Oct. 13 game slated for this fall against Ole Miss, the first SEC game at War Memorial since a 45-32 loss to Georgia on Oct. 18, 2014, before an announced crowd of 54,959, is the last on the current contract between the UA and the stadium.
The Razorbacks traveled to Little Rock on Friday to make appearances around the city.
Secondly, Reynolds Razorback Stadium is in the midst of $160 million in renovations to the north end zone, locker rooms, the Broyles Center offices and elsewhere that will increase capacity to around 76,000 this fall.
Morris has expressed a preference for playing on natural grass, and with the current artificial turf at Razorback Stadium at nine years old, there is speculation real grass might return at the on-campus venue.
For today, the offense will wear road white jerseys and work from the visitor sideline, while the defense will be in dark jerseys and will operate from the home sideline.
The Red-White game will represent practice No. 13 of the 15 allowed by the NCAA, with two more lighter workouts scheduled for next week.