FAYETTEVILLE — By asserting its dominance early, Arkansas had an opportunity to get several of its backups in the game Saturday afternoon.
Head coach Sam Pittman described it as “foreign territory” for the Razorbacks, but he sounded pretty happy that Malik Hornsby was able to play late in their 45-10 win over Georgia Southern.
The redshirt freshman played most of Arkansas’ penultimate drive, capping it with a 6-yard touchdown run, and also started the final possession. He attempted his first collegiate pass, completing it for minus-2 yards, and finished with 22 yards on five carries.
“Well, I thought he’s still fast,” Pittman said with a smile. “He made the one guy miss him and he went in there and scored. You know, he could have thrown the ball on one of them.”
Entering the game at the start of the fourth quarter, Hornsby immediately picked up 10 yards on the ground to kickstart what proved to be a 12-play, 66-yard touchdown drive that ate up seven minutes.
The scoring run was actually set up to be a pass, but after rolling to his right, he tucked the ball and got into the end zone himself for his first career touchdown. It was an exciting moment for the entire team, even starting quarterback KJ Jefferson.
“I told him on the sideline, like, ‘You’re fixing to get up. You’re going to score the ball right here. Just play ball. Just be yourself. You ain’t got to do too much. Just play ball, be yourself, man,’” Jefferson said. “When I came out the game, I was hollering the whole time he was in. I was just extremely proud of him.”
Although Hornsby started the next drive with a 13-yard run, he was eventually replaced by third-teamer John Stephen Jones, who helped the Razorbacks run out the rest of the clock.
Morris Solid Again
After catching Arkansas’ only two deep balls in the first two games of the season, Tyson Morris made it three straight games with a long reception when he hauled in a 47-yard bomb from Jefferson on the Razorbacks’ first offensive play of the day.
The super senior also played a key role on one of the team’s rushing touchdowns against Texas, which earned him just as much praise from Pittman.
“It seems like he makes at least one big play all the time, and then he's down there blocking for a touchdown,” Pittman said. “He's making critical, at the point of attack blocks, and he's making critical catches.”
Later in the game, Morris also caught a 14-yard touchdown pass despite being interfered with on the play. He’s the only Arkansas player with multiple touchdown catches this season and is second on the team with 148 yards on six receptions.
“Going to Tyson, his confidence is through the roof now,” Jefferson said. “So I can trust him and he can trust me to put the ball in the right spot and he’ll go up and make a play for me.”
