Head Hog's Son, Texas Quarterback Chandler Morris Commits to Arkansas
The wait is finally over. Highland Park High School 3-star dual-threat quarterback Chandler Morris has called the Hogs, committing to play for Arkansas and his father, head coach Chad Morris. Chandler announced via Twitter on Friday afternoon, just a few hours after Texas running back John Gentry also joined the "Diamond Gang."
He's the ninth commit in the 2020 class and the seventh out of Texas. He's ranked no. 62 in the state and no. 15 amongst dual-threat quarterbacks with his stock almost certain to go up in his senior season.
It might be the least surprising recruiting decision Arkansas fans have seen in a while, but it's also one of the most hotly debated topics of the last year. There just aren't enough cases of quarterbacks signing to play for their head coach-father to say one way or another whether it's a good idea.
The Head Hog took a hands-off approach to recruiting his son, letting his staff do that for him. He went to all but four of Chandler's games last season but his focus was on being a supportive father, not a scout.
"As long as Chandler's happy, I'm happy and Paula will be happy," Chad Morris told ESPN. "That's really it. I will be happy regardless. From a dad and a coach, I think playing for your dad, there are a lot of positives and a lot of negatives that can come with it. But I think if you step back from it all in the end, I want it to be his decision."
Regardless of the potential drawbacks, offensive coordinator Joe Craddock and the Hogs offered Morris. They were the second team behind Clemson, the Head Hogs' former employer, to offer Morris. Arkansas offered almost a year ago on June 15.
Chandler earned the offer just like any other quarterback would, by performing very well at a camp on the Hill last summer, throwing alongside 2019 signee KJ Jefferson and current UNC-commit Jacolby Criswell.
He backed up that camp performance by leading all Dallas-area high school quarterbacks in passing yards and touchdowns on the way to an undefeated 5A state championship, the third in a row for Highland Park.
Morris's recruitment got off to a slow start as he backed up current Razorback John Stephen Jones his sophomore year. He chose to stay in Dallas, instead of moving to Fayetteville with his dad, so he could play a couple more years under legendary Texas high school football coach Randy Allen.
After throwing for more than 4,000 yards with 46 touchdowns and tacking on another 675 yards on the ground with 20 more rushing touchdowns as a junior, the offers started pouring in. He threw just six interceptions in 410 attempts, making him one of the most accurate passers in the state and in the nation.
He now has offers from Oklahoma, Auburn, Kansas State, UNT and more. Aside from his many, many visits to Fayetteville, Morris also took unofficial visits to Oklahoma and his dad's alma mater A&M.
Though not a total blazer, Morris runs a very decent 4.73 40 and knows when to run. He's also excellent throwing on the move with accuracy. He leads his receivers and can make throws anywhere on the field. The knock against Morris at this stage is his size. At 5'10", 172 pounds, he doesn't quite fit the SEC mold. Fans would probably feel better about his height if he could reach the 190 range in weight as shorter quarterbacks are becoming less irregular.
As much as his size might be a minus, his football IQ and knowledge of his father's playbook is a huge plus. Chandler has seen everyone of his dad's games over the years and he grew up playing around with Deshaun Watson and Tajh Boyd.
As far as Morris's impact on the depth chart, he'd have quite a while to develop and grow if he needed it when he gets to the Hill in 2020. Arkansas signed grad transfer Nick Starkel from A&M this off-season and he'll have one more year to play the 2020 season. Behind him are one-time starter Connor Noland, John Stephen Jones, Daulton Hyatt and the quarterback many believe to be the future at the position, KJ Jefferson.
Chad Morris has preached and practiced family with each of his football programs, so adding his son, who has as much potential to succeed in DI football as any other, to the 2020 class was a no-brainer.
SUBSCRIBE to HawgBeat and get access to exclusive prospect interviews, the best recruiting network in the industry, inside scoops on recruiting and team news, videos, podcasts and much more.
Join the discussion on THE TROUGH, the Arkansas Rivals premium message board for thousands of Hog fans.