Grant Morgan making a name for himself

It's a good year for the Morgan family in Greenwood, Arkansas.

Arkansas junior wide receiver Drew Morgan currently leads the SEC in touchdown receptions and is quickly becoming one of the most well-respected receivers in college football, and his little brother, Grant Morgan, is beginning to draw a lot of interest in his senior season at Greenwood High.

Grant Morgan, 6-0, 227, 4.62, plays linebacker for the 10-0 Bulldogs and also chips in at running back and wide receiver in certain situations. Greenwood's starters have only played in two full games this season, but the younger Morgan has still managed 109 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 9 quarterback hurries and 3 pass break-ups on defense. Offensively, he has 10 receptions for 258 yards and 5 touchdowns. He's even taken over the team's punting duties and currently holds an average of 38.1 yards per punt on 15 tries.

A few colleges have already extended scholarship offers, and now others, including his older brother's Razorbacks, are beginning to show increased interest.

"This past couple of weeks it's been blowing up a little bit," Grant told HawgSports.com. "Coach (Barry) Lunney from Arkansas has called me a couple of times, and the same with Coach (Jemal) Singleton. I'm actually going up there on another visit next weekend because Coach Lunney wanted me to come up there.

"UCA's head coach called me Tuesday and said he's real close to offering. Arkansas State, I've been keeping in touch with Coach (Brian) Early and he said he'd talk to me more as the season goes on, at the end of the season and stuff like that. Missouri Southern State just offered me two days ago, and then I still have the three offers from Air Force, Arkansas Tech and Northeastern State.

"Pitt State has called a couple of times, and then the D2 schools like Harding, OBU, Henderson State, they've all wanted me to come to their games but I haven't been able to go to many games. Pitt State is a really good school. The head coach talked to my coach and said he's going to call me here soon, so I don't know what that means but it may be something good."

Grant ran forty-yard dash times of 4.62 and 4.67 at Arkansas' camp this summer. He said the Razorbacks have been honest about their current scholarship situation but have maintained constant contact throughout his senior year.

"They've talked to me about it and said if they were to offer me, that'd be their big question is where they'd want me at," Grant Morgan said. "Coach Singleton said he and (linebackers) Coach (Vernon) Hargreaves would go in a ring and fight for me or something.

"Coach Lunney's just telling me to keep my head up and good things will come no matter where you go. He's kind of being a mentor because he grew up in the same area as me. He's not going to lie to me, he's going to tell me the truth. He's been honest about the scholarship situation and just tells me he wants me to play with a chip on my shoulder and get what I deserve. He said he'll let me know as time goes on."

Grant doesn't spend a lot of time worrying about the recruiting process because he's seen it play out before. His older brother was once a two-star recruit (later became a three-star) who was headed to Arkansas State prior to former Arkansas assistant Tim Horton watching him in person at Greenwood's 2012 state championship game in Little Rock.

At the time, Arkansas was without a head coach and Horton was in charge of making decisions for the Class of 2013. Horton offered Drew and got him to flip his commitment a day before Bret Bielema was named Arkansas' new head man.

Grant said the way his brother's recruitment played out should be seen as inspiration for other underrated in-state prospects, himself included.

"He's really impacted a lot of people by how he's been able to do the things he does," Grant said. "Coming from a 2-star recruit and supposedly he didn't have the speed and size, now look at him. He's really blowing up and now he's the big man on campus. That's really big. I guess that's kind of a stage for all the 2-star and 3-star recruits around the stage to look at and say, 'Hey, that could be me.'

"For me, from a brother standpoint, I'm his biggest fan and he's my biggest fan. It's always been that way. Then again, he's also my biggest enemy and I'm going to beat him every chance I get. It's like, I'm going to be better than you, but when you beat me I'll be the first to say, 'Gosh dude, you're good.' But I am really happy for him and what he's proven."