FAYETTEVILLE — No. 17 Arkansas has been very successful on the road the past two years and will have another chance for a big win away from home Saturday when it travels to No. 22 Auburn.
No one looks forward to this opportunity more than Razorback senior wide receiver Drew Morgan, who has been a key ingredient in most of those victories.
He plans to help lead the youngsters of Arkansas (5-2, 1-2) into battle at Auburn (5-2, 2-1) in a 5 p.m. game televised by ESPN.
“I would just say focus,” Morgan said of what he will say to his younger teammates in the first true road game of the year. “When you go into a hostile environment like Auburn, it is one of those that takes you breath away and sometimes lulls you out of your focus on the game. If you just lock in 110 percent, everything will just fall right into your hands.
“You just have to focus and lock in, ignore the crowd, ignore everything, just lock in and do your job and do it to your fullest ability.”
Morgan was recruited by Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, when he was at Arkansas State and also when he moved on to take over the Tigers.
“It’s personal for me,” Morgan said. “I like Coach Malzahn. I like everything he does there. He has a really good team and I give them all the credit in the world.
“Their DBs are really fast, really big. I think their experience is in the defensive backs. It is going to be a challenge for the wide receivers this week to get separation.
“They play a lot like Alabama where they want to jam you in your face and we are going to accept that challenge.”
Morgan was asked to talk more about coach Malzahn, but pivoted to talking about how he believes that Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema and his staff have the Razorbacks in position for another big road win.
“I don’t really want to talk about Coach Malzahn,” Morgan said. “I want to talk about this team – Arkansas. I think we are ready and Coach B has us on the right track.
“We have been preparing for a team that has been coached by a good guy. I have all the respect in the world for him, but Arkansas – if we focus on what we do – we will get the job done.”
Morgan loves the fact that he is taking quarterback Austin Allen into the contest with him.
“Like I said, it is a hostile environment, but Austin will be ready,” Morgan said. “He was ready at (Texas) A&M just like he was at TCU. It is nothing new to him. He is one of those guys where he is going to stay in the pocket and deliver the ball and take a hit or two, but get back up and be just fine.”