Morgan Named to SEC Football Community Service Team

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Arkansas redshirt senior LB Grant Morgan has earned SEC Football Community Service Team recognition, the conference office announced Thursday. The SEC names a Community Service Team for each of its 21-league sponsored sports, which looks to highlight an athlete from each school who gives back to his community through superior service efforts.

Morgan has been a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for four years. He has served as Vice-President of SAAC and is a member of the SEC Leadership Council for Football. Morgan wrote letters to front line COVID-19 workers for Arkansas Children’s Hospital. He also participated in a Zoom chat with the Fayetteville Boys and Girls Club kids and donated game day memorabilia to a Type 1 diabetes elementary school student. In addition, Morgan led a community engagement initiative with the football team to sign and deliver a poster to the family of a freshman college student who passed away on his drive to Fayetteville for a game.

On the field, Morgan is second in the nation with 111 total tackles and third averaging 12.3 tackles per game, the most in the SEC. The Greenwood, Ark. native has also added five passes broken up, two quarterback hurries, one interception return for a touchdown, 2.0 sacks and a team-leading 7.5 tackles for loss to his season stat line. The Butkus Award, which honors the nation’s best linebacker, and Burlsworth Trophy, which recognizes an outstanding player who began their career as a walk-on, both named Morgan a semifinalist.

He has recorded 15 or more tackles in four games, the most in a single-season at Arkansas since Ken Hamlin in 2002 and the most by an SEC player since Missouri’s Kentrell Brothers in 2015. The former walk-on became the first Razorback since Tony Bua in 2003 to record consecutive 15+ tackle games with his second 19-tackle performance of the year against LSU.

His first 19-tackle game came in the 33-21 win over Ole Miss while adding 3.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, two passes broken up and an interception return for a touchdown, becoming the second FBS player since 2000 to total at least 15 tackles with 3.0 tackles for loss and an interception return for a touchdown. For his performance, he was named SEC co-Defensive Player of the Week, Chuck Bednarik Award Player of the Week, Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week and Athlon Sports Defensive Player of the Week.

Both of Morgan’s 19-tackle performances are tied for the third-most in a single-game by an FBS player this season. LSU’s Kevin Minter (2012) was the last SEC player to have two 19-tackle performances in the same year.

SEC Football Community Service Team
Nick Bolton, Missouri
Mac Brown, Ole Miss
Spencer East-Riddle, South Carolina
Luke Fortner, Kentucky
Najee Harris, Alabama
Andre Mintze, Vanderbilt
Koby Jones, Mississippi State
Kellen Mond, Texas A&M
Grant Morgan, Arkansas
Randy Russell, Florida
Azeez Ojulari, Georgia
Trey Smith, Tennessee
JaCoby Stevens, LSU
Eli Stove, Auburn