Players Stepping Up for Razorbacks After Mass Injuries
By Cory Thone
Drew Morgan, Rawleigh Williams III, Santos Ramirez, Dre Greenlaw, and Dominque Reed. Coming into 2015 these players were considered to be key role players for the Arkansas Razorbacks. That was before the injury bug infected the Hogs. 4 offensive starters out with an injury left a lot of fans wondering when and if someone would be able to fill their shoes.
Sep 26, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks receiver Drew Morgan (80) runs after a reception against the Texas A&M Aggies at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
I don’t think anyone saw Drew Morgan becoming an All-SEC caliber receiver this year, but his stats in the last few games make him look like it. Morgan is third in the SEC in receiving yards right now with 23 catches for 413 yard and 3 touchdowns. That’s an average of 18 yards per catch. With the losses of Keon Hatcher, Jared Cornelius, and Cody Hollister, Morgan was left as the only returning receiver from 2014 that had any real experience. Coming into the season, the Greenwood native had 181 total career receiving yards. If Morgan maintains his current yards per game averages, he’ll end the 2015 season with 991 yards receiving and around 10 touchdowns. That would be an absolutely amazing season for a kid that most people had listed as 3rd on the depth chart.
Also catching passes for the Razorbacks is JUCO transfer and Camden native Dominique Reed. We hadn’t seen much of Reed during the season, but his preseason hype was fairly high. He was an all-american receiver last year, and supposedly possesses game changing speed in the open field. Hog fans finally got a chance to see his abilities last Saturday in Knoxville, and they weren’t lying about his speed. He catches the ball with 4 defenders bearing down on him, and within 2 steps has put separation between them. By the time Reed hits full speed, it’s obvious that he’s going to score. The Hogs haven’t seen that type of quickness in the receiving unit since 2011. Here’s a gif of Reed’s touchdown.
Rawleigh Williams III looks like a future superstar to Hog fans. In fact, I think he looks like Johnathan Williams did as a freshman. He runs hard between the tackles, keeps the ball secure, and runs north and south. He’s hard to bring down, keeps a low center of gravity, and, oh yeah, he’s a true freshman. His ability to get yards could potentially be the missing element for the Hogs running game. Since Williams started taking handoffs consistently against A&M, the Razorback rushing attack has looked so much better. Williams allows for the offense to keep chugging forward while Collins gets a much needed break, and it takes some of the pressure off of Brandon Allen. RW3 had his first 100 yard rushing game against Tennessee, and he will be seeing increasing expectations and touches as the season rolls on. In a year of injuries and unmet expectation, RW3 should be a beacon of hope for Hog fans about the future of the Razorbacks.
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Dre Greenlaw has replaced Brooks Ellis at the weakside linebacker position, and has been pretty solid in the role. Yet another true freshman on the field for this Hogs team, Greenlaw had 10 tackles against Tennessee and 9 against TTU. He’s struggled some in the passing game, but there’s no denying that once he took the field as a starter for the A&M game, the Hogs defense improved. Ellis was out of position at weakside, and is now back home in the middle, where he has improved his play as well. Greenlaw will continue to improve as the season goes on, and has showed a lot of promise as a replacement for Martrell Spaight.
Sep 26, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks running back Rawleigh Williams III (22) runs with the ball against Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Qualen Cunningham (9) at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Joining Greenlaw and Ellis this week will be Dwayne Eugene, the sophomore from Louisiana. Eugene saw limited action last year as a true freshman, and started the season this year in the #3 spot on the depth chart. However, with the injury to Josh Williams in Saturday’s game, Eugene will be starting for the first time in his career at Arkansas. And good news for him is that he will be tasked with stopping Derrick Henry in his first start.
Finally, redshirt freshman Santos Ramirez will be starting this week for the Hogs. Ramirez has seen some playing time this year, including some big plays against A&M and Tennessee in the secondary. The Louisiana native is known for being a hard hitting safety, and will have his work cut out for him with the Crimson Tide. Ramirez had 7 tackles against the Vols, and 2 pass deflections in the A&M game.
The Razorbacks are in the unenviable position of having to burn redshirts and look to freshman to step up thanks to the NFL draft, graduation, and injuries. One of the big positives to come out of situations like this is the increased game experience usually correlates with an increase in on the field performance throughout a player’s career.
That being said, we’ve seen some straight up baller-status performances from guys like Morgan, RW3, and Greenlaw, and we’re seeing promising flashes of abilities from these guys listed here, and from other players as well. The Hogs are a young team that has to grow up quickly to compete in the SEC.