Editor’s Note: This is part 10 of a 12-part series previewing Western Kentucky’s 2019 opponents. The Hilltoppers will visit Arkansas on Nov. 9, with game time to be announced. Monday will feature Southern Miss.

This part is nothing new for Chad Morris.

The outside looking in hasn’t looked great at Arkansas. The Razorbacks lost a program-record 10 games last year and have experienced an exceptional amount of roster turnover since Morris took over.

By the time the Razorbacks host Western Kentucky on Nov. 2, Morris would hope that the nine games prior have yielded results that prove his vision.

Morris said at the Southeastern Conference Media Days event he’s experienced this type of project when he was previously the offensive coordinator at Clemson and head coach at SMU.

“I’ve been in this position before,” Morris said at SEC Media Days. “I’ve stood in the same area of record, of building a program. Year 1 at Arkansas was similar to when we got to Clemson and coming off the season that they had come off of, and watching the values and the vision that was set in place and in movement and the challenges that you had to go through in changing a culture. Year 1 at SMU, and all three stops there was success happening inside the walls of the football program.”

Morris was hired in December 2017 to replace Bret Bielema, who was fired after winning four games in his fifth season in the daunting SEC West. The Razorbacks went 2-10 last season, winless in the division and are projected to finish last again on that side of the conference this fall.

Arkansas was one of the worst teams in the nation statistically on offense ranking 117th in total offense (335.7 yards per game), 113th in scoring (21.7 ppg), 98th in rushing (143.4 ypg) and 97th in passing (192.3).

One of the 22 Razorbacks to enter the NCAA transfer portal since Morris took over is quarterback Ty Storey, who is currently competing for a starting job at WKU. Storey played in 10 games for Arkansas – starting nine – and threw for 1,584 yards and 11 touchdowns last year.

Storey’s return to his home state to face his former team will be the Hilltoppers’ first time playing Arkansas. The game comes as part of a three-game multisport series that includes a home-and-home with men’s basketball, which will end this season.

The departure of Storey and Cole Kelley leaves Morris with a battle for the starting quarterback job between either Ben Hicks or Texas A&M graduate transfer Nick Starkel, or freshman KJ Jefferson. Hicks played in the spring after transferring from SMU, where he played for Morris for three seasons, passing for more than 9,000 yards and 71 touchdowns.

“The leadership from all of that group has definitely impacted our program and talking to our defensive guys in particular, because I always ask them about what does it look like from that side of the ball,” Morris said. “And talking about the leadership of Ben, the leadership of Nick. Nick played in this league. Nick’s won in this league. And he understands what this league is about. So we got a battle going.”

Longtime SEC defensive coordinator John Chavis will have six returners in his second year leading the Razorbacks. Linebacker De’Jon Harris leads that unit after leading the SEC last year with 118 tackles.

“Our defense is built on speed and stopping the run, and understanding it’s a line of scrimmage league, we, too, signed seven defensive linemen to add to an already experienced group,” Morris said. “And I feel like we had the pieces in place Year 2 defensively to continue to show improvements as we move into this season.”

Arkansas 2019 Schedule

8/31 – Portland State

9/7 – at Ole Miss

9/14 – Colorado State

9/21 – San Jose State

9/28 – Texas A&M, in Dallas

10/12 – at Kentucky

10/19 – Auburn

10/26 – at Alabama

11/2 – Mississippi State

11/9 – WKU

11/23 – at LSU

11/29 – Missouri, in Little Rock, Ark.