Ty Storey set to join list of former Hogs who have played Arkansas

In a twist of fate, Ty Storey could hammer in the final nail in the coffin for Chad Morris.

The former Arkansas quarterback returns to Fayetteville as Western Kentucky’s starter Saturday for an 11 a.m. kickoff against his old team.

Although he wasn’t asked to leave, Storey saw the writing on the wall when Morris openly admitted the Razorbacks were pursuing graduate transfers. Just five days after he announced he was transferring, Arkansas landed Ben Hicks from SMU.

“Ty and I met with his family and we did not want Ty to leave,” Morris said. “But Ty wanted to go to a place…and have an opportunity to be the starter and was going to look around and see what was best for him moving forward.”

It required a season-ending foot injury to Steven Duncan in the third game of the season, but Storey eventually won the Hilltoppers’ starting job and has steadily improved.

After completing just 57.2 percent of his passes for 6.3 yards per attempt, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions at Arkansas last season, he’s completed 69.8 percent of his passes for 7.3 yards per attempt, 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions for Western Kentucky.

Despite the familiarity, defense coordinator John Chavis said he doesn’t think there’s an advantage for his defense or Storey in terms of one knowing the other better than a typical matchup.

“I have tremendous respect for him,” Chavis said. “He was a part of what we tried to get done last year and it took a lot of courage and he brought that to the field every time he went out there.”

The most impressive stat for Storey, however, is that he has gone 4-2 as the Hilltoppers’ starter and has them on the brink of bowl eligibility at 5-4 just a year after they went 3-9. He was winless in nine starts for the Razorbacks.

“Ty’s a gritty competitor,” offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said. “He loves to win and hates to lose. I would expect nothing else but for him to come in here and give us his best shot.”

This is a game his former Arkansas teammates have known was coming since Storey - a former four-star recruit out of Charleston, Ark. - announced his transfer destination in late February.

Defensive tackle McTelvin Agim, who played with him for three years, said he spoke with Storey shortly after his commitment and the Nov. 9 matchup was a topic of conversation.

“I saw him in the Jones Center,” Agim said. “I basically just told him, ‘Man, go ball out, be great. I hope y’all win every game and I hope you throw for 10,000 yards against every team but us.’”

The only scholarship quarterback left on the team who played with Storey last year is John Stephen Jones, who is set to make his first career start this weekend. The redshirt freshman said the two talked recently after he came off the bench at Alabama.

“He shot me a text after Alabama and told me congratulations on my first career touchdown pass,” Jones said. “Me and Ty are really good friends and it is going to be fun to see him on Saturday.”

This is not the first time a former Arkansas player has faced the Razorbacks with his new team. Here is a look back at a few others across all three major sports…

(NOTE: This list is not comprehensive. If you know of other cases, please don’t hesitate to share them on The Trough.)

Cole Hedlund - North Texas

Just last season, kicker Cole Hedlund returned to Reynolds Razorback Stadium as a member of the Mean Green. A highly touted prospect coming out of high school, he struggled throughout his tenure at Arkansas and was publicly criticized by former head coach Bret Bielema.

That led to his departure and the new scenery provided a much-needed fresh start for Hedlund. He finished his career as a Lou Groza Award semifinalist and first-team All-CUSA selection, making 19 of 22 field goals - including a long of 52 yards - and 51 of 54 extra points.

Had it not been for Maleek Williams’ 68-yard run in the final minute of the game, Hedlund would have single-handedly outscored his former team in North Texas’ 44-17 rout. He kicked three field goals - from 24, 26 and 20 yards - and made five PATs, giving him 14 points.

Houston Nutt - Oklahoma State

If you thought Storey was the first big-time in-state recruit to leave Arkansas after one year with a new head coach only to return to the state and play for the Razorbacks, you'd be wrong.

Long before he became a polarizing figure in the state as the head coach of the Razorbacks, Nutt was a highly sought after two-sport athlete at Little Rock Central. Ultimately, he chose to stay home and even started some games at quarterback as a true freshman in 1975. However, he didn't get much playing time for Lou Holtz in 1977 and transferred to Oklahoma State.

After sitting out the 1978 season, Nutt was a member of the 1979 and 1980 Oklahoma State teams that lost to Arkansas at War Memorial Stadium. He did not record any statistics in the '79 game, but did complete 7 of 8 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown the following season.