Arkansas wide receiver Drew Morgan is becoming a household name in the SEC, made famous by a few of the more clutch performances from a wide receiver in the conference this season.
It’s been a breakout year for the junior from Greenwood, Ark., who got his crack at the Razorbacks’ No. 1 spot after an injury to the team’s incumbent receiving leader, Keon Hatcher. Morgan has formed an instant rapport with quarterback Brandon Allen, connecting for 723 yards as the Arkansas offense has blossomed into arguably the most-diverse and dynamic unit in the SEC.
Thanks to a conference-high 10 touchdowns this season, Morgan has been able to juxtapose his name into the conversation for potential first-team All-SEC honors. But where does the 6-foot, 195-pound junior actually stand among the best pass-catchers in the SEC?
If Morgan is going to be named a first-teamer, it’s not going to be based on his total yardage, despite sitting at No. 6 in the conference in receiving yards with a 13.9-yard average per catch. The Hogs wide receiver is 377 yards behind SEC-leader Laquon Treadwell (1,060 receiving yards) of Ole Miss, who has 20 more catches than Morgan.
That said, if Morgan can post his average of 65.7 yards per game in Arkansas’ regular season-finale against Missouri, he should finish the year somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 yards. While that number isn’t exactly “eye-popping,” it doesn’t necessarily preclude him from one of the two first-team slots.
For proof, look no further than the 2009 season and Georgia’s A.J. Green (808 yards, 6 TDs) for the last first-team All-SEC wide receiver with less than 1,000 yards. Despite the spate of 1,000-yard receivers in the past half decade, this year could be considered a down year for wideouts, as South Carolina’s Pharoh Cooper (887 yards) and Texas A&M’s Christian Kirk (871 yards) — Nos. 2 and 3 in receiving yards in the SEC — each need fairly decent showings in their final game to reach the 1,000-yard plateau.
Aiding Morgan’s case are the SEC-best 10 touchdown grabs — and how and when he hauled them in. The junior has three touchdown catches in overtime this season, including the game-winners against Auburn and Ole Miss. He doesn’t just finish contests, he also starts them. Of his 10 scoring grabs, four have opened the Hogs’ scoring in the first quarter.
Morgan’s touchdown total — which he can add to in Week 13 against Missouri — is more than nine of the 15 former All-SEC first-team wide receivers in the past 10 years. That list includes both of Jordan Matthews’ first-team seasons (7 TDs in 2013, 8 in 2012) at Vanderbilt, and the seasons of Alabama’s Julio Jones (7 TDs, 2009) and South Carolina’s Alshon Jeffery (9 TDs, 2009).
Treadwell is a likely consensus first-team wide receiver this season. Morgan should fight with South Carolina’s Cooper and Texas A&M’s Kirk for the second spot.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
