Desmond Morgan

Desmond Morgan

Morgan in 2013
Current position
Title	Senior defensive analyst
Team	Memphis
Conference	AAC
Biographical details
Born	(1992-09-09) September 9, 1992 (age 32) Holland, Michigan, U.S
Alma mater	University of Michigan
Playing career
2011–2015	Michigan
Position(s)	Linebacker
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2016	Wayne State (MI) (GA)
2017–2018	Maryland (GA)
2019	Minnesota (STQC)
2020–2022	Indiana State (LB)
2023–present	Memphis (senior DA)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
ESPN.com and BTN.com Big Ten All-Freshman (2011) College Football News All-Freshman honorable mention (2011)

Desmond Morgan (born September 9, 1992) is an American college football coach and former linebacker. He is the senior defensive analyst for the University of Memphis, a position he has held since 2023. 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

When Morgan was in high school, he worked out at a local gym in Holland, Michigan, that his father, Scott Morgan, went on to purchase in January 2017.^[1] He played linebacker and quarterback for West Ottawa High School, earning The Holland Sentinel Defensive Player of the Year recognition in 2010.^[2][3] In high school, Morgan 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.^[4][5] Rivals.com rated him as the 25th best football player in the state of Michigan.^[6] Morgan also played quarterback in high school.^[3] Morgan was a Michigan Wolverines fan growing up,^[7] and he committed to Michigan in early February 2011.^[8][9]

College recruiting information

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
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   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: "Michigan Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012. "2011 Michigan Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012. "2011 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012.

College career

2011 season

Morgan tweaked his hamstring at the end of training camp, which limited him early in the season.^[10][11] Morgan is credited with starting the second game against Notre Dame on September 10,^[3] however, he struggled with his hamstring in the rivalry game.^[12] 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.^[13] 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."^[14] In his second career start on October 29, 2011, against Purdue, he had a team-high nine tackles.^[10][15] 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.^[16] 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.^[17][18][19]

2012 season

Morgan missed the September 15, 2012, game against Massachusetts due to injury.^[20]

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.^[21][22] He earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition in 2012.^[23]

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.^[24][25] 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.^[26][27] Morgan was named Athlon Sports Big Ten Defensive player of the week.^{[28][better source needed]}

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.^[29]

2015 season

Morgan was granted a fifth year of eligibility after the NCAA approved his medical hardship waiver.^[30] Through the first nine game of the 2015 season, Morgan was Michigan's leading tackler with 57 total tackles.^[31] Following the 2015 Big Ten Conference football season, he was an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection.^[32][33] He won the 2015 Roger Zatkoff Award as the team's top linebacker. He finished his career as a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, and Morgan was also voted to the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team selection.^[2]

Professional career

Morgan went undrafted in the 2016 NFL draft.^[34] He joined the staff of the Wayne State Warriors as a graduate assistant for the 2016 season. The following season he took the same position with the Maryland Terrapins.^[2]

References

1. D’Addona, Dan (January 15, 2017). "Desmond Morgan, father Scott take over Anytime Fitness on Holland's north side". Holland Sentinel. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
2. "Desmond Morgan: Graduate Assistant". UMTerps.com. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
3. "Desmond Morgan 44". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
4. "Desmond Morgan". ESPN. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
5. "#48 Desmond Morgan". Scout.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
6. "Desmond Morgan". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
7. Greer, Cris (December 17, 2010). "West Ottawa linebacker Desmond Morgan commits to Michigan". Grand Rapids Press. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
8. Jon Schultz (February 2, 2011). "Desmond Morgan's signing with U-M football adds to growing legacy for Holland area". The Holland Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 5, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
9. 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.
10. Rohan, Tim (October 31, 2011). "Notebook: Hoke likes the way Ryan and Morgan play linebacker". Michigan Daily. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
11. Cunningham, Pete (October 31, 2011). "Brady Hoke on Iowa, road games and more from his weekly press conference". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
12. Meinke, Kyle (September 16, 2011). "Breaking down how Michigan's position groups are trending, including the big winner: Linebackers". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
13. Meinke, Kyle (October 28, 2011). "Michigan's Desmond Morgan to start at linebacker, becoming 5th freshmen to earn pronounced role on defense". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
14. Alan Babbitt (October 29, 2011). "Desmond Morgan to make second start for Michigan football team vs. Purdue". The Holland Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
15. Alan Babbitt (October 30, 2011). "Brady Hoke calls Michigan football's Desmond Morgan 'very instinctive football player'". The Holland Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
16. "Team: Michigan: Year: 2011 Thru 12/31/11: Player: Desmond Morgan". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
17. Rittenberg, Adam and Brian Bennett (December 13, 2011). "ESPN.com's Big Ten All-Freshman team". ESPN. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
18. Dienhart, Tom (December 12, 2011). "BTN.com's 2011 Big Ten All-Freshman Team". Big Ten Network. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
19. Cirminiello, Richard (December 9, 2011). "2011 CFN All-Freshman Defensive Team". College Football News. Scout.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
20. Meinke, Kyle (September 15, 2012). "Michigan down 5 starters with Desmond Morgan (head) Stephen Hopkins (hamstring) out against UMass". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
21. "Ford Named Michigan Football Legend; Morgan to Wear No. 48 Jersey". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
22. "LB wears Gerald Ford's number". ESPN.com. October 13, 2012.
23. "2012 Fall Academic All-Big Ten" (PDF). BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. December 6, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 1, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
24. Rutter, Eric (September 24, 2013). "Michigan Zaps Zips". Michigan Times. Archived from the original on October 1, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
25. "Akron 24 (1-2, 0-2 away); (11) Michigan 28 (3-0, 3-0 home)". ESPN. September 14, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
26. "Michigan Hangs On After Scare, Again". The New York Times. September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
27. Vukelich, Liz (September 21, 2013). "Notebook: Desmond Morgan, defense bail out stagnant offense". Michigan Daily. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
28. University of Michigan (September 23, 2013). "@umichfootball status update". Twitter. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
29. Baumgardner, Nick (October 27, 2014). "Michigan's Desmond Morgan done for the year, Jabrill Peppers' status uncertain". MLive.com. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
30. Rittenberg, Adam (February 10, 2015). "Desmond Morgan granted fifth year". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
31. "2015 Michigan Football Statistics (9-game Totals)". University of Michigan. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
32. "Lewis, Peppers Lead Big Ten Defensive Yearly Honors". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. November 30, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
33. "Defense and Special Teams Awards: Eight students receive individual honors, including inaugural Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year". BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. November 30, 2015. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
34. Sang, Orion (April 30, 2016). "Undrafted Wolverines sign with NFL teams". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved July 15, 2016.

External links

• Official bio at Michigan
• Morgan at NCAA
• Morgan at CBS Sports
• Morgan at ESPN.com
• Morgan archive at Michigan Daily
• Morgan archive at AnnArbor.com