Desmond Morgan

Desmond Morgan
Sport(s) Football
Current position
Title Graduate Assistant
Team Wayne State
Biographical details
Born (1992-09-09) September 9, 1992
Holland,Michigan
Alma mater Michigan University
Playing career
2011-2015 Michigan
Position(s) Linebacker
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2016- Wayne State (GA)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards

Desmond Morgan (born September 9, 1992) is an American football linebacker. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines football team from 2011 to 2015. He was a 2011 ESPN.com and BTN.com Big Ten All-Freshman selection as well as a 2011 College Football News All-Freshman honorable mention for the 2011 team.

High school career

In high school, he was rated as the 24th and 42nd best high school football inside or middle linebacker in the national class of 2011 by ESPN and Scout.com, respectively.[1][2] Rivals.com rated him as the 25th best football player in the state of Michigan.[3] Morgan also played quarterback in high school.[4] Morgan was a Michigan Wolverines fan growing up,[5] and he committed to Michigan in early February 2011.[6][7]

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Desmond Morgan
ILB		 Holland, Michigan West Ottawa (MI) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 4.675 Dec 23, 2010 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 42 (MLB)   Rivals: 25 (MI)  ESPN: 24 (ILB)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

College career

2011 season

Morgan tweaked his hamstring at the end of training camp, which limited him early in the season.[8][9] Morgan is credited with starting the second game against Notre Dame on September 10,[4] however, he struggled with his hamstring in the rivalry game.[10] Brandon Hawthorne started the next five games. After seven games and a bye week, Morgan replaced Hawthorne as the starting weak-side linebacker based on superior performance.[11] In announcing Morgan's promotion to the starting lineup, head coach Brady Hoke said, "Desmond's got a great future. He's doing a lot of good things. We're excited about him."[12] In his second career start on October 29, 2011 against Purdue, he had a team-high nine tackles.[8][13] Morgan established career highs with 10 tackles in both of the final two games of the season: he posted 5 solo (including his only quarterback sack of the season) and five assists on November 26 in The Game against Ohio State and then he had seven solo tackles and three assists in the January 3, 2012 Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech.[14] For the season, he earned 2011 Big Ten All-Freshman team recognition from both ESPN.com and BTN.com as well as 2011 College Football News All-Freshman honorable mention honors.[15][16][17]

2012 season

Morgan missed the September 15, 2012 game against Massachusetts due to injury.[18]

On October 13, 2012, Michigan designated Gerald R. Ford's former jersey, No. 48, as a Michigan Football Legend Jersey. Morgan was honored as the first recipient of the Ford legend jersey, switching from the No. 44 jersey to No. 48.[19][20] He earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition in 2012.[21]

2013 season

In week 3, against Akron during a third down and 1 goal line stand, Morgan made a key tackle for a loss in the final 20 seconds to preserve the 28–24 win.[22][23] In the fourth quarter of the fourth game against Connecticut on September 21, Morgan made a one-handed interception to preserve a 24–21 victory.[24][25] Morgan was named Athlon Sports Big Ten Defensive player of the week.[26]

2014 season

He only appeared in the season opener for the 2014 Michigan Wolverines football team against Appalachian State before injuring his hand and missing the rest of the season.[27]

2015 season

Morgan was granted a fifth year of eligibility after the NCAA approved his medical hardship waiver.[28] Through the first nine game of the 2015 season, Morgan was Michigan's leading tackler with 57 total tackles.[29] Following the 2015 Big Ten Conference football season, he was an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection.[30][31] He won the 2015 Roger Zatkoff Award as the team's top linebacker.

Professional career

Morgan went undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft.[32]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Desmond Morgan". ESPN. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  2. ↑ "#48 Desmond Morgan". Scout.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  3. ↑ "Desmond Morgan". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  4. 1 2 "Desmond Morgan 44". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  5. ↑ Greer, Cris (2010-12-17). "West Ottawa linebacker Desmond Morgan commits to Michigan". Grand Rapids Press. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  6. ↑ Jon Schultz (February 2, 2011). "Desmond Morgan's signing with U-M football adds to growing legacy for Holland area". The Holland Sentinel.
  7. ↑ Jeff Chaney (February 1, 2011). "Blizzard won't keep West Ottawa's Desmond Morgan from sending letter of intent to Michigan". The Grand Rapids Press.
  8. 1 2 Rohan, Tim (2011-10-31). "Notebook: Hoke likes the way Ryan and Morgan play linebacker". Michigan Daily. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  9. ↑ Cunningham, Pete (2011-10-31). "Brady Hoke on Iowa, road games and more from his weekly press conference". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  10. ↑ Meinke, Kyle (2011-09-16). "Breaking down how Michigan's position groups are trending, including the big winner: Linebackers". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  11. ↑ Meinke, Kyle (2011-10-28). "Michigan's Desmond Morgan to start at linebacker, becoming 5th freshmen to earn pronounced role on defense". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  12. ↑ Alan Babbitt (October 29, 2011). "Desmond Morgan to make second start for Michigan football team vs. Purdue". The Holland Sentinel.
  13. ↑ Alan Babbitt (October 30, 2011). "Brady Hoke calls Michigan football's Desmond Morgan 'very instinctive football player'". The Holland Sentinel.
  14. ↑ "Team: Michigan: Year: 2011 Thru 12/31/11: Player: Desmond Morgan". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  15. ↑ Rittenberg, Adam and Brian Bennett (2011-12-13). "ESPN.com's Big Ten All-Freshman team". ESPN. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  16. ↑ Dienhart, Tom (2011-12-12). "BTN.com's 2011 Big Ten All-Freshman Team". Big Ten Network. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  17. ↑ Cirminiello, Richard (2011-12-09). "2011 CFN All-Freshman Defensive Team". College Football News. Scout.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  18. ↑ Meinke, Kyle (2012-09-15). "Michigan down 5 starters with Desmond Morgan (head) Stephen Hopkins (hamstring) out against UMass". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  19. ↑ "Ford Named Michigan Football Legend; Morgan to Wear No. 48 Jersey". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. 2012-10-13. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
  20. ↑ "LB wears Gerald Ford's number". ESPN.com. October 13, 2012.
  21. ↑ "2012 Fall Academic All-Big Ten" (PDF). BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  22. ↑ Rutter, Eric (2013-09-24). "Michigan Zaps Zips". Michigan Times. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
  23. ↑ "Akron 24 (1-2, 0-2 away); (11) Michigan 28 (3-0, 3-0 home)". ESPN. 2013-09-14. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
  24. ↑ "Michigan Hangs On After Scare, Again". The New York Times. 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
  25. ↑ Vukelich, Liz (2013-09-21). "Notebook: Desmond Morgan, defense bail out stagnant offense". Michigan Daily. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
  26. ↑ University of Michigan (2013-09-23). "@umichfootball status update". Twitter. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
  27. ↑ Baumgardner, Nick (2014-10-27). "Michigan's Desmond Morgan done for the year, Jabrill Peppers' status uncertain". MLive.com. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  28. ↑ Rittenberg, Adam (February 10, 2015). "Desmond Morgan granted fifth year". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  29. ↑ "2015 Michigan Football Statistics (9-game Totals)". University of Michigan. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Lewis, Peppers Lead Big Ten Defensive Yearly Honors". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. 2015-11-30. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  31. ↑ "Defense and Special Teams Awards: Eight students receive individual honors, including inaugural Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year". BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. 2015-11-30. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  32. ↑ Sang, Orion (April 30, 2016). "Undrafted Wolverines sign with NFL teams". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved July 15, 2016.

External links

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