FAYETTEVILLE -- Highly touted quarterback Chandler Morris, son of University of Arkansas Coach Chad Morris, publicly committed to the Razorbacks on Friday afternoon.
Also Friday morning, Houston North Shore running back John Gentry was wowed so much during his official visit that he saw no reason not to orally commit to the Razorbacks.
Morris, 5-10, 172 pounds, of Dallas Highland Park, also had scholarship offers from Oklahoma, Clemson, Kansas State, Auburn, Colorado, Virginia Tech, Kansas and others. He told his father of his decision early in the year.
"I officially told him probably a couple of weeks ago, talking about the date that I was going to release it," Morris said. "I told him I guess late January, and that I just felt it was the right decision. It brought a lot of relief I guess, and I felt like it was the right decision."
The elder Morris was happy to hear about his son deciding to be a Razorback.
"He gave me a big hug. He was excited," Morris said. "We understand that we have got a lot of work to do together. There are going to be some things that are gong to be weird about it, but it is gong to be a really cool story and a lot of fun and a lot of success."
Chandler Morris made the decision to announce his pledge because he knew of his plans to visit Arkansas and participate in the Elite Razorback Passing Academy on Friday.
"I didn't know the next time I would be in Fayetteville, but I knew that I would be up here for this camp tonight," Morris said. "I just felt like I wanted to be around the whole Arkansas family and share this special day with them."
Morris completed 266 of 411 passes for 4,055 yards and 46 touchdowns while throwing 6 interceptions and rushing 131 times for 652 yards and 19 scores as a junior. He led the Scots to a third consecutive Texas 5A Division I state championship last season.
Morris was named the offensive MVP of the championship game after he completed 23 of 35 passes for 262 yards and 3 touchdowns and was intercepted once in the Scots' 27-17 victory over Shadow Creek at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Morris had a fourth touchdown pass overturned on a replay review.
He weighed the pros and cons of attending Arkansas.
"It was the most difficult decision that I have had to make, and as an 18-year-old. It kind of seems unfair that you have to make this decision at this young of an age," Morris said. "But it was a tough decision and I had to lay out the pros and cons and I noticed that I had more pros than I had cons.
"I knew there was going to be a lot of pressure on the line, but I am not the type to run away from pressure. So I understood that and I didn't let the pressure scare me away."
National recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS Sports Network has been traveling the nation since 1978 seeing top prospects. He saw Morris and numerous other top Dallas-Fort Worth prospects on Dec. 29. He rates Morris a 4-star recruit.
"He's a coach on the field with a good arm, terrific mechanics and quick feet," said Lemming, whose first All-American team in 1979 included Pro Football Hall of Famers Dan Marino and John Elway. "He's one of the more efficient quarterbacks in the country."
Morris earned MVP honors among quarterbacks at the The Opening Regional in Dallas in March, beating out more than 40 other quarterbacks for the award.
He received an invite to the Elite 11 Finals, which is held at The Star in Frisco, Texas, on June 28-30. He's the only Arkansas commit ever to be invited to the Elite 11 Finals.
"That's an honor," said Morris, who recorded an electronic 4.70 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the Regional. "I've got that in a couple of weeks. I will be wearing that Razorback on a hat showing that logo off a bit. Talking to some of my boys out there saying, 'We've got something special coming in Fayetteville. Let's go be a part of it.' That will be a lot of fun."
Gentry, 5-10, 190, 4.56 seconds in the 40-yard dash, made an unofficial visit Fayetteville for the Red-White spring game in April. He arrived in Fayetteville for his official visit on Wednesday and left a Hog on Friday.
"It was a visit to remember," Gentry said. "All [of] the food was a highlight, and then the time at Coach Morris' house really sealed the deal for me. I sat down one-on-one with all the coaches and they were telling me how I'm needed and I could be a big part of the turnaround."
He had 1,300 all-purpose yards and more than 20 touchdowns as a junior to help lead the Mustangs to a 16-0 record and the Class 6A Division I state championship.
"I love Arkansas," Gentry said. "SEC is the best level of football there is. If I come in here and do my thing, I have the possibility to go to the league and I think they can put me in a position to do that."
Gentry splits time in the North Shore backfield with 5-star prospect Zachary Evans, who's considered the No. 1 prospect at his position in the nation. He picked Arkansas over Houston, UNLV, Utah State, Wyoming, Hawaii, Colorado State, Tulsa and others.
He was hosted by junior tailback Rakeem Boyd on the visit.
"Rakeem was an amazing host," Gentry said. "He showed me a lot, we talked about a lot. He sealed the deal for me, too."
Gentry is confident the Razorbacks program are headed in the right direction and has spoken to freshman defensive end and good friend Collin Clay about the future.
"I know last year Coach Morris was new, so that was a rebuilding stage, but they're more stable now. I think they'll have more wins this season," Gentry said. "I talked to Collin and he told me it's a great atmosphere. He said that everyone is really here and in it and they're going to turn this thing around."
Arkansas now has nine commitments for the 2020 class, seven from Texas. Oral commitments are nonbinding.
Sports on 06/15/2019