Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

1/27/2012 at 3:31pm

Image by Mark Wagner

Tyler Wilson was honored Friday as the Little Rock Touchdown Club's Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

A pattern becomes evident with just a quick glance at the brief but illustrious history of the Little Rock Touchdown Club's annual awards. Something is in the water in Greenwood.

Daniel Stegall, a former Bulldog quarterback who went on to try professional baseball, was honored as his classification's (4A) player of the year in 2005. Tyler Wilson, who just completed his junior season in leading Arkansas to an 11-2 season, was the club's Southeastern Conference offensive player of the year for 2011. And Drew Morgan, a junior who led Greenwood to yet another Class 5A state crown, was this year's 5A player of the year.

Greenwood Coach Rick Jones, couldn't attend Friday's Touchdown Club awards banquet because he was in California speaking at a coaching clinic. Obviously people around the country are taking note that something's going on in western Arkansas.

So should Greenwood start piping its water supply into other areas of the state that don't produce such prolific quarterbacks, just to even things out? Or is there more to it than that?

"That's always been kind of a joke, but it goes back to the community," Wilson said Friday at the Peabody Little Rock Ballroom. "We have a great community that supports football, supports athletics and they love to win. I think that's what it goes back to is you breed great kids and it's kind of instilled in them. And you've got a great coach there as well."

Drew Morgan led Greenwood to a dominating run through 5A to its second straight state championship and fifth in six years. The Bulldogs' toughest test was overcoming a 21-point lead to beat Camden Fairview on the road in the semifinal playoff round before conquering Batesville 53-11 in the title game.

Morgan has another year and in his acceptance speech said, "I'm just looking forward to next year."

Wilson could say the same thing, as the senior-to-be chose to remain a Razorback another season and not enter the NFL Draft.

Wilson, who followed Stegall in leading the Bulldogs title run, has long heard of Morgan's talents, he said Friday.

"I got a chance to watch him a few times and knew of him growing up, knew he was going to be a pretty good player," Wilson said. "He's done really well. I'm happy for him."

While Greenwood is the Arkansas hotbed for quarterbacks, Warren has claimed the title for producing big-time wide receivers. Rex Nelson, one of the two hosts for the Friday festivities along with club president David Bazzel, joked that Warren's reputation as being the "home of the pink tomato" was being pushed aside by all the receivers who have developed in Bradley County in the past decade, from former Tennessee Vol Bret Smith to record-setting Razorback receiver Jarius Wright.

Wright, who was on the receiving end of 66 of Wilson's passes for 1,117 yards this season, was chosen by the club as the Razorback offensive player of the year.

Wright, who is training for the NFL Draft and recently played in the East-West Shrine game, asked his mother, Jeanette Hooper, to accept his award. She asked him what she needed to say Friday, she told the gathering of about 400 fans.

"He told me first to thank God, then thank his family and friends, and the give thanks to the Touchdown Club because it's such a prestigious honor, and lastly but not least to thank the coaches and the staff and the team for the knowledge he's gotten and learning of the game."

The event honored Arkansas college and high school players from all divisions. It was noteworthy, as Nelson pointed out to the crowd, that a number of players on both levels were quarterbacks, and like Wilson and Morgan, many of the players were juniors in their respective levels.

And that means we may see many of the same faces next year. Some we've seen before anyway. El Dorado's Scott Reed, whose program won its third straight 6A title in 2011, picked up his second coach of the year award in three years. Pulaski Academy's Fredi Knighten, who was last year's High School Player of the Year (as named by event sponsor ARpreps.com and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette), was the Class 4A player of the year and his coach, Kevin Kelly, was the 4A's top coach. Those two were part of a 14-0 romp through Class 4A in which Pulaski Academy mercy-ruled 12 foes.

Maybe there was a rule against Knighten winning the top overall player two years in a row, as Greenbrier quarterback Neal Burcham, who had an outstanding three-year career and is headed to SMU, was this year's Player of the Year.

Knighten and 3A Player of the Year Quanterio Heath are headed to Arkansas State next season. Class 2A player Kenneth Dixon of Strong is bound for Louisiana Tech. El Dorado running back Marque Burris has another season with the Wildcats, and linebacker Brooks Ellis will return for 7A state champ Fayetteville.

Arkansas Baptist, which fields a junior college team, saw Keathric Brown honored. Brown, who will continue his career at UAPB, broke into tears on the stage after receiving his plaque. "I just can't tell you what this means to me."

And tears were shed by many in the audience when the family of Garrett Uekman — dad Danny, mom Michelle and sister Meghan — accepted the Paul Eells Award from the Club. Uekman died suddenly the Sunday following the Hogs' win over Mississippi State and before the regular-season finale with LSU. The Eells award was started in 2006 after the death of the longtime KATV sportscaster and Voice of the Razorbacks that summer. Past winners are all former Hogs: Robert Johnson, Peyton Hillis, Casey Dick, Joe Adams and D.J. Williams.

Nearly overcome with emotion, Michelle Uekman told the crowd of her son, "He was living his dream, and what an honor to witness that. He always dreaming of making his mark in life through football, and it's not quite what he intended. But it's God's plan and is what we're called to do.

"Our cups runneth over. It's quite an honor ... Remember his joy, his laugh — because Garrett loved to laugh — and his love, always."

She added, "To you other student-athletes, I want to say, it's OK to be the nice guy. There are always little eyes looking up at you wanting to be like you."

Two wide-eyed youngsters in Razorback jerseys were looking up at Uekman's teammate, Tyler Wilson, as the crowd mingled afterward, and they were part of a photograph and a moment they'll never forget. I remembered my own awe at the likes of Razorback quarterback greats Bill Montgomery and Joe Ferguson eons ago.

Greenwood native Wilson is part of the Razorback program resurrection to those days, with the first 11-win season in 33 years and records such has his 510 yards passing against Texas A&M, with 281 of those going to his favorite target, Jarius Wright.

"It was obviously a great season," Wilson said amid many well-wishers. "We accomplished a lot of things we wanted to get done ... We wanted to win a national championship — we didn't quite get there — but we accomplished a lot of great things and I'm real happy for this season."

TOUCHDOWN CLUB HONOREES
SEC Offensive POTY: Tyler Wilson, Arkansas
SEC Defensive POTY: Tyrann Mathieu, LSU
SEC Coach of the Year: Mark Richt, Georgia
National POTY: Robert Griffin III, Baylor
Paul Eells Award: Garrett Uekman, Arkansas (awarded posthumously)
Class 7A Player: Brooks Ellis, Fayetteville
Class 7A Coach: Daryl Patton, Fayetteville
Class 6A Player: Marque Burris, El Dorado
Class 6A Coach: Scott Reed, El Dorado
Class 5A Player: Drew Morgan, Greenwood
Class 5A Coach: Rick Jones, Greenwood
Class 4A Player: Fredi Knighten, Pulaski Academy
Class 4A Coach: Kevin Kelley, Pulaski Academy
Class 3A Player: Quanterio Heath, Rison
Class 3A Coach: Van Paschal, Barton
Class 2A Player: Kenneth Dixon, Strong
Class 2A Coach: Shane Davis, Strong

College MVPs
Arkansas: Jarius Wright
Arkansas Baptist (JUCO): Keathric Brown
Arkansas State: Ryan Aplin
Arkansas Tech: A.J. Whitmore
UA-Monticello: D.J. Stephens
UAPB: Bill Ross
Central Arkansas: Nathan Dick
Harding: Kale Gelles
Henderson State: Keaton Stigger
Ouachita Baptist: Casey Cooper
Southern Arkansas: Mark Johnson

Tagged: Daniel Stegall, Tyler Wilson, Drew Morgan, Rick Jones, Jarius Wright, Garrett Uekman, Little Rock Touchdown Club, Paul Eells, Rex Nelson, David Bazzel, Fredi Knighten, Kevin Kelley, Tim Horton