Greenwood’s Morgan switches to Arkansas

Drew Morgan (15) rushed 9 times for 83 yards and 1 touchdown, caught 4 passes for 87 yards and 1 touchdown, returned 3 kickoffs for 55 yards, made 9 tackles and had 1 interception.

— Greenwood athlete Drew Morgan earned his second consecutive MVP award in a state title game on Saturday and impressed Tim Horton, Arkansas recruiting coordinator and running backs coach, enough to receive a scholarship offer on Monday morning.

When Morgan and his father visited Fayetteville later in the day, he switched his oral commitment from Arkansas State to Arkansas.

Morgan helped Greenwood to a 51-44 victory over Pine Bluff on Saturday in Little Rock, telling reporters afterward that he was still committed to Arkansas State.

“I’m happy to go play for Gus Malzahn,” Morgan said.

That all changed Monday.

“It’s always been a dream to go play Division I [Football Bowl Subdivision], big-time SEC football and it couldn’t be a better place than Arkansas,” said Morgan, who celebrated his 18th birthday on Sunday. “It’s my home, obviously I’m in Arkansas, and it’s an hour away from home and it’s easy to travel back and forth.”

Morgan, 6-0, 180, 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash, rushed 9 times for 83 yards,2 touchdowns and had 4 receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown in the 51-44 victory over Pine Bluff for the Class 6A state championship. He also had 9 tackles and an interception.

Morgan, who was Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Northwest Arkansas as a junior and Preseason Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All Arkansas selection, sat in Horton’s office and told him he wanted to be a Razorback.

“He jumps up and I’m telling you I thought he jumped out of his pants,” Morgan said. “He was so excited.”

Morgan had 82 rushes for 765 yards and 19 touchdowns and 83 receptions for 1,122 yards and 14 touchdowns while finishing with 72 tackles. He was impressed with Horton’s professionalism despite not knowing his coaching future.

“He knows what’s happening right now,” Morgan said. “He just carries himself real well. He knows what he’s in and he’s actually putting forth effort to recruit people. That shows me he still has confidence in this program.”

Sports, Pages 20 on 12/04/2012