Tyson Morris has less than a week left in his college football career. Six years worth of blood, sweat and tears will culminate Saturday when Arkansas plays Penn State in the Outback Bowl.
De’Vion Warren has five years of equity put into the Arkansas program. He, too, has just the final game left.
Come January 1, the eyes of Razorbacks Country will be on them, too, perhaps more now than ever, even with their 11 years combined college-football experience. Morris and Warren are arguably the top two wide receivers on the team now that Treylon Burks declared he would be skipping the bowl for the NFL draft.
Warren has been in Fayetteville for all five of his years. And he, for one, is ready.
“I’ve been here since Coach (Bret Bielema) was here,” he said. “We have had ups and downs as a team, but being able to have the success we have, it’s been amazing. It’s been great. I’m happy that I’ve been here to help with the rebuild and being part of it. It’s just been a good thing for me.”
Warren caught 13 passes for 219 yards this season, not far off the 15 for 278 he had last year. He is known quantity.
Morris is a bit different. He began his career at Division II Central Oklahoma before he, the Fayetteville High grad, realized he truly could play for the Razorbacks. In 2021, he nearly exceeded his career output to that point by catching 21 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns.
The Fayetteville native and the man who played for three different coaches know this is the end. They aren’t going to slack for Arkansas’ bowl, either. It’s their final shot.
“Some teams take (bowl games) lightly,” Warren said. “We don’t take any game lightly, so for us it’s another game that we have to go out there and earn respect. In college football, people do not respect Arkansas.”