Storey provides step forward, but it has to continue

Chad Morris has said since the beginning of spring practice that being the starting quarterback at Arkansas is not a lifetime appointment.

That’s the way coaches point out you can lose it if you don’t perform. Ask Cole Kelley. For the last year it’s almost seemed like he was the one coaches kept trying to push into the starting role.

Storey, meanwhile, has been the guy who just quietly does what he’s supposed to, doesn’t create waves or do a lot to jump into the spotlight.

But when he’s in the spotlight it doesn’t particularly bother him.

“The moment was not too big for him,” Morris said in the wake following the 34-3 loss at Auburn on Saturday night.

Unless Storey somehow does something completely out of character, you got the idea listening to Morris after the game the quarterback position is now fixed.

“Ty was a warrior,” Morris said later. “He was a warrior and he was gritty. He played with a chip on his shoulder.”

Of course there are critics. Every Arkansas quarterback since the beginning of time have had the social media Hall of Fame armchair quarterbacks who THINK they have a clue and nitpick things most have no idea about.

By the numbers, Storey outplayed his counterpart Saturday night. The Hogs put up 290 yards of offense while Jarrett Stidham led Auburn to 225. That says a lot about the job John Chavis did with the defense in one week.

It also showed some ability for the offense to move the ball. Yes, there were miscues, but not as many as before. Only one interception. More concerning were the drops of perfectly placed passes that were dropped for no reason at all.

Let’s not forget, either, coming into this season Auburn’s defensive front was one of the most highly-touted in college football, in the top five of every discussion.

And Arkansas ran the ball for 182 yards. Take away the 19 yards in losses Storey had while trying to extend plays or just avoid the pressure, not have receivers drop wide open passes and we’re talking about a fairly solid night.

But they just couldn’t get into the end zone.

“It starts with me,” Storey said later. “I’ve got to make more plays, and we’ve got to put the ball in the end zone.”

What he did, though, was establish himself as the leader of the offense going forward.

“Obviously, there were some throws we wish he could have back,” Morris said. “But this is a guy who kept fighting, just like they all did.

“I’m very proud of Ty. I’m extremely proud of him moving forward and the way he played tonight. Ty did some really good things tonight.”

What Storey did was give this Razorback team something they can build on going forward.

“He carried the offense on his back tonight,” senior defensive end Randy Ramsey said later.

Ramsey was a big reason Stidham and the Auburn offense appeared out of sync nearly the entire evening. He only had one sack, but it’s a safe bet everyone for the Tigers knew his number all night.

And having an established leader at quarterback tends to have that carry-over affect for the entire team.

“Now we don’t have to worry about who’s playing this game, this game,” Ramsey said. “It’s good to know we have a solidified starter on the offense.”

Nobody’s ready to put Storey into the Hall of Fame after one solid performance that resulted in a 31-point loss and the offense didn’t get into the end zone, but it is a step forward.

Which is what Morris told us last week he was trying to do. He is looking for improvement every practice, every game.

At quarterback he got that Saturday night.

Now we see what happens moving forward.