CHARLOTTE — Several days before the trip to the Belk Bowl, senior wide receiver Drew Morgan was presented with a question: How would he remember his time at Arkansas?
First, know that Morgan is never at a loss for words. He’s been THE favorite interview for many beat writers covering this Arkansas football team. Rarely does he come to the interview room without a clear thought on the day’s topic, good or bad.
Morgan put his hands on his shoulder pads and leaned forward. His eyes didn’t make contact with the lone reporter left. He looked away twice. That’s when it became obvious that for once Morgan was having trouble expressing himself.
Tears welled up in his blue eyes. Still, there were no words.
The reporter gave himself a chance to reboot. The question was rephrased. Morgan nodded his head and was ready this time with another good response.
“I am not focusing on it like it’s the last game in this uniform, with this helmet,” he said. “That’s not it. What makes it tough, it’s the last time with the guys in my locker room, my meeting room, my brotherhood.
“I don’t care that it’s the last game, and that may sound bad. What’s tough is that it’s the last time with my brothers, my teammates.
“I think everyone who has ever played will tell you the same thing, it’s about the relationships, your teammates.
“I love the games. I love coming in here to talk with you guys after the games. I do. I always want to tell my story, give you something to write. I’m amazed at what you can do with one little quote, craft a big, long story.
“But what it’s about at the end, it’s all these brothers. This game is the last time to be with them, fighting for one thing, trying to win. I’m leaving this brotherhood behind. That’s what gets to me.”
That’s what brought tears.
Morgan has led the team in receptions the past two seasons. He’s got 134 for his career, 63 last year and 61 with one game left this season. He’s tied for 10th on the UA career receptions list.
It’s not just that Morgan catches a lot of passes. He does it in key situations. Arkansas charts what head coach calls “money plays,” defined as plays producing either a first down or a touchdown. Morgan leads with 41, 38 for first downs and 3 for touchdowns.
There was determination in his voice when he talked about the last game, a 28-24 loss to Missouri when the big plays near the goal line were missing in the second half. The Hogs did not score, blowing a 24-7 lead.
Whether you talked to Morgan, or quarterback Austin Allen, or other Razorbacks, that Missouri game still leaves a bitter taste in their mouths.
In fact, Morgan said it’s the losses that tend to dominate his thoughts as he heads for the finish line in Charlotte for the Belk Bowl.
“To be honest, I think the negatives (in his career) are the things I remember the most,” he said. “I remember the losses. I have a 24-hour rule, that no matter what happens, you have to forget it and move on to the next game, but it isn’t always easy.
“The 24-hour rule for the Missouri game was tough to deal with. It was the longest 24 hours of my life. I still am not sure what happened. I know I was playing hard. I know the man next to me was playing hard.”
Allen said the Missouri loss “lingered for awhile.” That second half was tough to stomach. He called it “disgusting” at the time. His feelings haven’t changed in the weeks since.
“It’s always in the back of your mind,” he said. “I was pretty mad for two to three weeks. I couldn’t get away from it. I hope it pissed off the other players, too.”
If form holds true, the Hogs will bounce back. They’ve followed losses with victories all season. It’s too much up and down, though. Why can’t they avoid so many downs?
Allen had to think a minute before answering. He grabbed his shoulder pads for a moment of reflection just as Morgan had done earlier.
“It’s a tough question,” he said. “Sometimes we looked good, sometimes we killed ourselves. We’d come back on Sunday and flush it and move on. I don’t really know why it was like that. I do know we need to figure it out.”
We’ll start there for the Top 10 keys to victory as the Hogs prepare to face the Hokies at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in Bank of America Stadium.
1. Excitement – There’s always been a saying about bowl games, the team that is most excited to be there will play the best. Are the Hogs excited to be in Charlotte? Allen said, “Yes, we are. We thought we drew a quality opponent, a very good team. We want to go prove ourselves against Virginia Tech. Our guys were happy with the result (of the bowl selections). We’ve worked hard in practices.” Allen was asked about the extensive bowl gifts, and the process of going to the Belk store to shop with a gift card. He answered the question, but he added, “The purpose of this trip is not for (shopping), it’s to win a game. We are going there to win. There’s other good aspects of a bowl. You’ve got 15 more practices to get better, have time for young guys to learn our philosophy. We are excited about those opportunities, too.” The Hokies are trying to get to 10 wins in Justin Fuente’s first year as head coach. One would expect that to bring some excitement for the Virginia Tech fan base, expected to outnumber the Arkansas contingent.
2. The Offensive Line – If there was a group that needs the time on the practice field in bowl practices, it has to be the offensive line. How the Hogs play there might determine the results in Charlotte. Left tackle Dan Skipper and center Frank Ragnow have both been selected to All-America and All-SEC teams, but it’s been about finding a solid group around those two. Hjalte Froholdt started every game at left guard with good and bad results. His play was better of late. The Hogs also seemed to find good prospects for the future on the right side with tackle Brian Wallace and guard Johnny Gibson. Gibson is the walk-on from Dumas with the wonderful first game against Florida. He started with a bang, blowing up the star Gator linebacker on the first play. He said, “It was a pulling play and I got to the next level. I flat backed him, pancaked him or whatever else you call it. I went back to the huddle and told everyone. I just wanted to keep finishing plays like that.” Now, he’s got to put play after play together like that. The middle of the Arkansas line will have its hands full against Tech. Nose tackle Woody Baron has 17 tackles for lost yardage. Ragnow said, “He stems and moves just before the snap every play. He’s very quick, very smart. Fundamentally, they are all very good, but he’s a tough one to block on a consistent basis. That’s our job in this game.”
3. Contain the Quarterback – Virginia Tech’s Jerod Evans (6-4, 238) is a load. He’s the leading rusher with 759 yards on a team-high 182 carries. He averages 4.2 yards per rush and has 10 of Tech’s 24 rushing touchdowns. He’s a 63.5 percent passer with 3,303 yards and 27 touchdowns. He dazzles in coach Justin Fuentes’ run-pass option plays. The Hokies list three starting wide receivers and a tight end. Actually, they use two tight ends in their spread, with massive Bucky Hodges (6-7, 245) moving throughout the formation to create mismatches both for blocking and as a target for Evans. Hodges is third with 43 catches. The Hogs will have to stop Evans on the ground first. They’ve been gashed by running quarterbacks all season, so that won’t be an easy task.
4. Avoid Turnovers – It’s the key against Tech. The Hokies have fumbled 30 times, perhaps the result of lots of tricky ball handling in the spread. They’ve lost 17 fumbles and Evans has thrown seven interceptions. The Hokies have forced 21 turnovers, but still sit at minus 3 on the season. The Hogs are minus 2 in turnovers with Allen throwing 12 interceptions and losing a team-high four fumbles. No one else has lost more than one fumble. They lost two fumbles against Tennessee and three against Georgia Tech, two of their four losses. Allen threw two interceptions in the red zone to derail the Hogs in the second half at Missouri.
5. Physicality – When the Hogs have had it, they’ve been terrific on offense. They had it against Florida and Mississippi State late in the season, but lacked it at times against Missouri, LSU and Auburn. It may be the difference between winning and losing in the Belk Bowl. Fuentes preaches physicality. So does Bielema. The running games numbers are similar for the two teams. Tech averages 184.9, Arkansas 174.9. But it’s been feast or famine for the Hogs. They rushed for 200 (Ole Miss), 223 (Florida) and 357 (Mississippi State) in their last three wins, but only 73 (Alabama), 25 (Auburn), 81 (LSU) and 155 (Missouri) in their last four losses.
6. Protection – The job is two-fold against Tech, figure out the slides and slants of the Tech front and locate outside linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. The 6-5, 238-pound Edmunds will generally line up opposite right tackle Brian Wallace, but can move to other starting points. He’s second in tackles with 99, 17 for lost yardage plays. He’ll resemble what the Hogs saw every week in the SEC, similar to All-SEC outside linebacker Arden Key of LSU. Can Wallace handle Edmunds when the Hokies jump into a five-man front, what most teams did against Arkansas? Or, will they have to keep tight end Jeremy Sprinkle in to pass block? Protection has been iffy for the Hogs all season. That’s another reason the run game has to produce, so Allen can rely on the play action game.
7. Special Teams – This has long been a Virginia Tech strength. Of course, no one emphasized it more than Frank Beamer, who retired last year. The special teams coordinator now is James Shibest, a former Arkansas player and coach. The Hokies are still good here with placekicker Joey Slye converting 20 of 26 with four of his misses at beyond 40 yards. The Hogs have been shaky in placekicking. Bielema noted after the Missouri game that he did not consider calling on Adam McFain in the closing minutes because of a missed extra point and field goal at Starkville. The Hogs would seem to have the edge in punting with Toby Baker averaging 44.6 and Tech’s Mitchell Ludwig averaging just 38.8.
8. The Foster Factor – Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster won the Broyles Award in 2006 after the Hokies led the nation in defense for the second straight season. He’s been in charge of the Tech defense since 1996, serving as co-coordinator in 1995. The Hokies shutout Boston College in the ACC opener this season, the 31st shutout in his time in Blacksburg. Tech’s defense is a moving 4-2-5 with two strong safeties. It’s a good formation to jump into an eight-man front, what the Hogs expect in the Belk Bowl. Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos has faced Foster three times, twice as an assistant. Tech has won all three.
9. Fourth Quarter – This could be a shootout. Both teams have shown ability to move the ball on offense. So it will likely come down to the fourth quarter. The Hogs were unable to finish well at Missouri. That will be the goal this time around. Allen has been terrific in the fourth quarter in victories over Louisiana Tech, TCU, Ole Miss, Florida and Mississippi State. Can he read Foster’s 4-2-5 in clutch time? It’s the final game for senior pass catchers Keon Hatcher, Cody Hollister, Dominique Reed , Morgan and Sprinkle. They will get a chance to make plays against Tech’s secondary, if the Hogs can protect Allen.
10. The Arkansas D-Line – If there has been a group that under achieved this season, it would have to be the defensive line. With four seniors in the two-deep, it’s the last chance for some of these highly regarded linemen to turn the heads for NFL scouts. Senior defensive end Deatrich Wise was supposed to be the best of the group and he was on the second team by the end of the season. Battling a broken hand all season, Wise should be full speed for the bowl game. Does he have the strength to shed blockers? That was the problem that put him on the bench except in passing situations. Wise will rotate with senior Jeremiah Ledbetter at the weakside end slot. That could be a good combo, but they will be faced with lots of read option plays from Evans. Can they keep blockers off the weakside linebackers in the UA scheme? It’s as big a key as there is in the Belk Bowl.