Razorbacks Offer Impressive Sophomore QB from Texas, Braedyn Locke

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It was just four weeks ago that Arkansas head coach Chad Morris saw his son engage in an all out offensive battle against Rockwall High School and sophomore quarterback Braedyn Locke, and now Morris has extended an offer to the rising star.

Locke threw for 569 yards and five touchdowns in that game and, despite falling 66-59 to the Scots, the performance caught the eye of the Head Hog, the first Division-I head coach to buy stock in Locke or even reach out with interest.

"I was a little in shock," Locke said. "I had not expected it at all. I’m really grateful for Coach Morris and his staff for seeing something in me and giving me this opportunity. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid.

"I was at the game this past weekend in Fayetteville," Locke recounted to Rivals. "Before the game started, Coach Morris wanted to meet with me. He talked about what they look for in quarterbacks and said he enjoyed watching me play against his son, Chandler, in the Highland Park game. Then lastly he told me they wanted to offer me."

Locke is the sixth of six 2022 quarterbacks that have been offered early by the Hogs. Two hail from Texas, two from Georgia, one from Arkansas and one from California.

Locke is coached by the Texas High School Football Coaches Association president Rodney Webb, who has sent scholarship players to Morris's programs over the years. Webb has been the head coach at Rockwall since 2013 and he's always found a way to get a winning record.

Now, Rockwall is 3-1 with their lone loss to Highland Park and Locke is leading the state of Texas in passing yards with 1,573 as a sophomore. He's also shown great ball security as well with just three interceptions in 132 attempts with 19 touchdowns.

"It’s been a great season," Locke said. "My coaches and teammates have been so great about teaching me things and just taking me under their wing. I’m really fortunate to be in this spotlight but it’s because of those guys that I’m here."

Locke plays with 2020 4-star Ohio State wide receiver commit Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Rockwall has been sending players to Division-I programs consistently since the 2015 season with scholarship signees to Vanderbilt, Texas, Tulsa, SMU, Oklahoma State, Minnesota and several more programs. The last Rockwall player to sign with Arkansas was in 2007 when 2-star OL Rhett Richardson called the Hogs.