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Arkansas wide receiver Tyson Morris, the team’s leading receiver after Treylon Burks opted out of the Outback Bowl, was not with the team in Florida on Monday because of an undisclosed illness.
Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman said during his press conference Monday that he expected Morris to be cleared by the end of the week and he could join the team as soon as Wednesday. Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Morris was absent because of the flu.
“I’m supposed to not tell you exactly all those things,” Pittman said. “I think that’s a privacy for the kid. I can tell you that depending on the different rulings, we’ll know this afternoon whether he can be here to practice on Wednesday or whether his first real speed action will be on Saturday.”
Otherwise, Arkansas was mostly healthy as they began game week preparation for Penn State in the bowl on January 1. Defensive Mataio Soli was injured during a scrimmage before Christmas and, per Murphy, had his knee wrapped during practice earlier this week. Freshman tight end Zach Lee was also not seen practicing, but Pittman said he anticipated the team being full-go by the end of the week.
Morris finished the regular season with 21 catches for 305 yards and two touchdowns. All three numbers ranked second on the roster behind Burks, who opted out earlier in December as a projected first-round NFL draft pick.
The Outback Bowl is Arkansas’ first in the state of Florida since the Capital One Bowl in 2007 and the meeting against the Nittany Lions is the first in school history.