An interesting test case could be developing for just how strong new Arkansas head coach Chad Morris' recruiting ties are in Texas.
Lake Travis, Texas, junior-to-be four-star quarterback Hudson Card (6-foot-2, 170 pounds) has offers from Arkansas, Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and TCU among others.
Lake Travis has won six state titles since 2007, including five in a row from 2007-2011. That is where Morris finished his 16-year high school coaching career with back-to-back state championships in 2008-2009. The Cavs went 32-0 those two seasons.
Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, the Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 NFL draft pick, graduated from Lake Travis. It's the same place that was Morris' last stop before entering college coaching, first as the offensive coordinator at Tulsa, then at Clemson in the same role before becoming head coach at SMU.
In addition to Mayfield, Lake Travis has produced college quarterbacks lately in Todd Reesing (Kansas), Garrett Gilbert (SMU), Michael Brewer (Virginia Tech), Colin Lagasse (SMU), Dominic DeLira (Iowa State) and Charlie Brewer (Baylor).
"It's an honor and a blessing to be the quarterback at Lake Travis, and I want to live up to the standards that all the other guys have set," said Card, who is ranked as the nation's No. 2 dual-threat quarterback and 168th-best player nationally by the 24/7 composite rankings.
Morris has an offense that would fit Card's dual-threat skills perfectly, and the opportunity to steal one from the Longhorns and also keep him away from SEC powers would be a strong statement.
Razorback assistant coach Mark Smith is set to be at Lake Travis next Tuesday to watch Card practice. He's one of six 2020 quarterbacks the Razorbacks have offered.
"Coach Morris is a great guy and a great coach and somebody I know that I would really enjoy playing for," Card said. "I hear really great things about him, from Coach Carter and the other coaches. He used to coach at Lake Travis, so he is one of our guys and thought of so highly by everyone around our program."
Card was the backup to Ohio State signee Matthew Baldwin last season. He will now take over as the starter after completing 57-of-82 passes for 604 yards and six touchdowns and rushing for 459 yards and six more scores.
When Baldwin went down on the first play of the Class 6A state title game, Card came in and was 21-of-32 passing for 224 yards and three touchdowns -- two rushing -- in a 35-33 loss to Allen.
Card helped rally Lake Travis from a 21-0 deficit and came within a two-point conversion late of forcing overtime against Allen (16-0). He primarily lined up at wide receiver during the regular season as a sophomore and caught 69 passes for 1,137 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Card will have the luxury this season of throwing the football to five-star wideout Garrett Wilson, an Ohio native who chose Ohio State over Texas on Sunday night with a stinging rebuke of the Longhorns.
"I'm not going to lie, the official visit made me think about them a little more," Wilson said. "In the end, I've watched a lot of people go to Texas with a ton of ability and maybe not achieve what I thought they could. I didn't want to be one of those guys."
Lake Travis (13-3) lost several stars off its 2017 team, including safety Nathan Parodi, a preferred walk-on at Arkansas this season after a senior season where he picked off seven passes.
"We had seven starting sophomores last season, and we went to the state title game, so we should improve," Card said. "When you have a guy like Garrett Wilson, it makes everything easier."
Arkansas has a Lake Travis alum on its roster in tailback Maleek Barkley, part of the school's 2016 state title squad.
No doubt Card will continue to add offers as Arkansas continues to recruit him and other 2020 quarterbacks such as Morrilton's Jacolby Criswell, who will visit the Razorbacks unofficially this weekend.
"I haven't really thought too much about recruiting right now," Card said. "I am just kind of taking it easy. I'm still young and really just enjoying playing football and blessed to have so many opportunities."
Dudley E. Dawson can be reached at ddawson@nwadg.com.
Sports on 05/03/2018