Former Arkansas Razorbacks receiver Drew Morgan now coaching with same toughness he played with
ELKINS, ARKANSAS - When Drew Morgan remembers his favorite plays during his Arkansas football career, he immediately goes to the Razorbacks’ 54-46 four-overtime win over Auburn in 2015.
Morgan tied the game with a touchdown in the first overtime, then eventually caught the game-winner, a 25-yard strike from Brandon Allen, in the fourth extra period.
But the play he is most proud of was a key block he made, taking out two defenders, in the in the second overtime that allowed running back Kody Walker to scoot into the end zone.
Drew Morgan was a standout receiver at Greenwood High School and starred at the University of Arkansas. He is now the special teams coach at Elkins High School in Northwest Arkansas.
“I take pride in blocking,” said Morgan, now an assistant coach at Elkins High School. “My coaches at Greenwood would always say, ‘No block, no rock’. My receivers coach at Arkansas, Michael Smith, would say the same thing. And I’m saying it to you now.”
Despite finishing his college career ranked seventh on the school’s all-time receptions list with 138 catches, totaling 1,763 yards and 14 touchdowns, it’s the physicality that Morgan remembers the most.
“If you’re going to be the aggressor, go be the aggressor,” he said. “Go be the hammer, not the nail.”
That is not surprising with the style of play he always took the field with. Whatever it took to win, Morgan never flinched. Now, he has taken that same perspective into his coaching career.
“The toughness aspect is something that I never even thought about,” he said. “Most kids think about being hit, instead of delivering the hit. Most receivers are thinking about receiving the hit. Not me. I was the complete opposite. My main focus was on catching the ball and letting the rest take care of itself. I would worry about my body later. I just wanted to win.”
Morgan is in his third season as the Elks’ special teams coordinator and receivers coach, and has been a big part of the team’s recent success under head coach Zach Watson. After finishing 8-3 in 2021, the Elks went 9-3 last season, losing to Nashville in the state quarterfinals.
They have begun this season with three blowout victories, and have a bye on Friday, before traveling to Gravette next week.
Morgan’s intensity on the sideline resembles that same passion he had as a player. He also has a unique knack for being able to relate to his players, thanks to lessons learned at an early age.
Drew Morgan has been the special teams coach at Elkins for three years.
With his father, Matt, being an entrepreneur, the Morgans moved frequently while Drew and his siblings were growing up. That meant spending time around many different kids, from a variety of lifestyles and backgrounds.
“I feel like everywhere I have gone, everyone can relate to me, and I can relate to them -- all because of football,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what religion you are, what color you are, what you believe in, football can bring us all together. If your team scores, you are high-fiving somebody. It’s that camaraderie that we build on the field that translates over into life, and football teaches those life lessons.”
In 2009, the family landed in Greenwood for Morgan’s freshman year. He immediately found himself in one of the state’s meccas of high school football, under legendary Head Coach Rick Jones.
“You get to a place like Greenwood, where the foundation was built long before me, with Coach (Rick) Jones and Coach (Ronnie) Peacock,” he said. “It’s that foundational wealth that they provided, knowledge-wise, and how they made kids feel when they were playing. I was able to build some confidence early.”
Morgan began playing running back for the freshman team, leading it to a 10-0 record and a conference championship. He continued to play in the backfield when he was moved up to the varsity the following season. Although his playing time was limited, he scored the Bulldogs’ first touchdown of the 2010 season, the first time he touched the ball.
“When I scored that first touchdown, that was probably the best thing that ever happened to me mentally, because it showed me that ‘I can do this’,” he said. “It was a huge boost of confidence.”
Morgan was later moved to receiver and was a part of three consecutive state championship teams, from 2010-12.
He was ranked the No. 7 player in the state as a senior, according to Rivals, and committed to Arkansas State before Bret Bielema took the job and re-evaluated the in-state recruits. Morgan started his final two seasons with the Hogs, before signing as a free agent with the Miami Dolphins. He spent two seasons on the Dolphins’ practice squad, then had a short stint in the upstart Alliance of American Football, before hanging up his cleats for good. He had also dealt with a concussion and wanted to retain his health.
“I realized that pro football was just a business, and I didn’t want to be a part of that anymore,” he said. “I kept working hard, but the opportunities just didn’t fall my way. But the NFL really taught me how to conduct myself in a public setting. You can’t be a goob. You have to represent yourself, your name, your image and your family. But the biggest thing was just being grateful for every day I got, because a lot of the guys didn’t get a chance to make it to that point.”
Drew Morgan is happy coaching high school football and imparting some of the wisdom he has obtained during his career.
Morgan became a volunteer assistant at Greenwood, under Jones, in 2018. He then spent a year as a volunteer at Fayetteville, under Casey Dick, before landing his first paid position as the offensive coordinator in Warner, Okla.
He then found his way to Elkins and has no regrets.
“Honestly, I do what I do, because it’s my thanks to The Lord for what He has blessed me with,” Morgan said of his decision to enter the coaching ranks. “I love coaching, and I’m passionate about it. The majority of the time it’s really fun, and the other times it’s about learning. I say learning, not losing, because nobody loses in life. It’s always just another opportunity to learn. If you have to take one step backward to take two steps forward, that’s perfectly fine. Those are just life experiences.”
At 28, he is still able to physically show his players what he expects them to do, as far as running the correct routes and positioning themselves.
“When you have a coach that can go out there and physically show these players what you are wanting them to do, that changes the game,” he said. “I wasn’t the fastest, I wasn’t the biggest, I wasn’t the strongest, but hey, neither are our guys. But if they can understand the discipline and details in that, they can overcome those things. That’s what I have tried to carry over here.”
Morgan also helped raise his siblings to grow up with that same sort of discipline, which has also boded well as they have become adults. Paige is four years younger, and Grant is two years younger. Grant exhibited that same mental and physical toughness, going from a walk-on at Arkansas to becoming an All-American linebacker, which earned him the 2021 Burlsworth Trophy.
“I was tough on my brother and my sister, so I knew I had to live up to what I was preaching,” Drew said.
Although football has been his platform to success as a player and coach, Morgan said it still needs to be held in the proper perspective of life. One of his most valuable lessons learned as a youngster was identifying his priorities. For him, football falls fourth in line, following God, family and his school. Those priorities must bet met in order to achieve your desired outcome.
“That’s just the way I live my life every day, and it works” he said. “Football is not the most important thing. If you have football as your main priority, then you are probably living your life wrong.”
--Steve Andrews
