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'07 PA DE Derrick Morgan (Georgia Tech signee)

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Morgan picks Georgia Tech
By: DAVE ZEITLIN Staff writer
11/03/2006


All major high school football recruits feel pressure.

But Coatesville Area High standout Derrick Morgan likely felt more than most as practically everyone the defensive end knew -- and strangers, too -- urged him to stay close to home and sign with Penn State.

"I lost count," Morgan said. "Everyone wanted me to go there."

But after a lot of heavy thinking -- and a lot of prayer -- Morgan went with his gut, verbally committing to Georgia Tech.

Morgan -- one of the nation's most coveted high school defensive ends and the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania, according to many scouting services -- informed Yellow Jackets defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Giff Smith of his decision Wednesday night and head coach Chan Gailey on Thursday afternoon.

"It really wasn't that tough for me," the 6-foot-4, 265-pounder said. "I'm not going to school for somebody else. It's my choice, my future -- and I made my decision."

Morgan said he was swayed to Atlanta after forming strong relationships with Smith and Georgia Tech recruits Tyler Melton and Nick Claytor.

Morgan -- a National Honor Society member who plans to pursue a degree in communications -- will graduate from Coatesville in December and enroll at Georgia Tech in January to get a jump-start on his classes and workouts.

"As a player, he's outstanding," Coatesville head coach Tom Nichols said. "The athletic ability and speed he has is exceptional. And he's an outstanding young man. He has no downside. He's mature, he's responsible -- he does everything the way he's supposed to."

The recruiting intensified for Morgan after he enjoyed a splendid junior season with the Red Raiders. Penn State was the first major program to try to lure Morgan when it offered the defensive end a scholarship in March.

"We just didn't think it would take off like it did," Morgan's mother, Pam, said. "It took off when he was a junior. Penn State offered first and, before we knew it, he had 20 scholarship offers. It was crazy."

Morgan, who also plays running back for Coatesville, eventually narrowed his choices to Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Miami, Penn State and Boston College, making official visits to all of those powerful programs this season.

The Coatesville star visited Boston College last weekend, staying with former Conestoga standout and Eagles true freshman Mark Herzlich -- a titan who staged a breakout performance last weekend in a win over Buffalo, recording 11 solo tackles and a forced fumble in his first career start.

Morgan, who is close with Herzlich, said the Eagles were No. 2 on his list behind Georgia Tech. But the senior called coaches from Ohio State, Miami, Penn State and Boston College on Tuesday night to let them know he'd be passing on their offers.

"It was hard calling all those coaches you had good relationships with," Morgan said. "I called Mark, too. He said, 'If that's the place for you, I'm happy for you.'"

Morgan visited Georgia Tech on Sept. 2 and looked on as the Yellow Jackets dropped their season opener to Notre Dame, 14-10. Georgia Tech has since caught fire, however, winning six of its last seven games, including a 30-23 victory over Miami in last weekend's homecoming contest.

Morgan said he made up his mind a few days ago but waited until Thursday to confirm his commitment with Gailey, a 32-year veteran of the sidelines and the head coach at Georgia Tech since 2002.

"He sounded very excited," Morgan said. "He said, 'Congratulations and join the family.'"

Morgan claimed the distance didn't play a major role in his decision -- "I'm at college, so I'll be away regardless," he said -- although his mother will feel a twinge of sadness when her son packs his bags for Atlanta.

"I was behind him 100 percent," she said. "Of course, I'll miss him because he's my only one. I'll have to get a hobby or something."

While the recruiting process often was tiresome, Morgan never felt burdened by the deluge of letters and phone calls. He did turn off the text messaging feature on his cell phone but, for the most part, appreciated the opportunities he knew all the attention would eventually produce.

"It's been a good process," Morgan said. "It's a blessing. Some people say it gets tiring, but it comes with the opportunity to go to college. It's a great thing."

And yet he's satisfied the process finally is over.

"It's a big relief," Morgan said. "I can join a family now. I'm so excited for the future."

To contact staff writer Dave Zeitlin, send an e-mail to [email protected].
 
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I was googling something else - and I ran across this thread. Wow, you guys do a great job with recruiting info and organization. Really cool to read and sort of follow Morgan's recruitment from the beginning. It's one of the best college message board features I've ever seen.

I guess to really nobodies surprise, Morgan is now one of the best DE's in the country, he's just a monster off the end with his size and quickness. He's having a tremendous season as just a true sophomore. We're thrilled to have him in Atlanta :)
 
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vadimivich;1296856; said:
I was googling something else - and I ran across this thread. Wow, you guys do a great job with recruiting info and organization. Really cool to read and sort of follow Morgan's recruitment from the beginning. It's one of the best college message board features I've ever seen.

I guess to really nobodies surprise, Morgan is now one of the best DE's in the country, he's just a monster off the end with his size and quickness. He's having a tremendous season as just a true sophomore. We're thrilled to have him in Atlanta :)
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Thanks for the props.

Derrick seemed really interested in Ohio State for a while ... and then the Buckeyes sort of dropped him for whatever reason. He'd look pretty good in Columbus right now.... :(
 
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All eyes on Georgia Tech's defensive line -- again - ACC - ESPN

Georgia Tech only lost six starters from last year's nine-win team that tied with Virginia Tech for the Coastal Division title, but three of them were on the defensive line and had combined for 87 career starts. That leaves the door wide open for Barnes -- and several other young players -- to win starting jobs this spring and summer. The unit lacks both depth and experience, and is easily the Yellow Jackets' biggest question mark heading into the fall, as junior defensive end Derrick Morgan is the only player returning with any starting experience.

"Coach (Giff) Smith instills in us we have to be the best group on the team," said Morgan, who cracked the starting lineup as a true freshman in 2007. "That's what we strive for. I know we're losing four seniors, but we're not looking at it as a lack of talent. We have talent. We don't want to lower our expectations coming into next year just because we're losing four seniors. We're setting the bar high."

Morgan has set the standard high for himself. He was second on the team and eighth in the ACC with seven sacks last year. He had 9.5 tackles for loss and was tied for second nationally in fumble recoveries with four. He led all of Tech's linemen with 51 tackles, but soaked up his teammates' knowledge on a daily basis.

Former starters Vance Walker, Michael Johnson and Darryl Richard often shared different pass rush techniques and how to see blocks. Morgan said he's still learning from the trio as they audition for NFL scouts, and give him advice on going through the NFL combine and handling his post-collegiate career. They've also added to the growing list of voices telling him he has to be a leader this season.

"I'll probably have a bigger leadership role amongst my teammates," said Morgan, a junior who recently turned 20 years old. "I'm ready for that. A couple of coaches have said I have to step up and become one of the leaders of our team, and I have no problem doing that."

He'll be anchoring a group that includes defensive end Robert Hall and defensive tackle Ben Anderson, both who played significant snaps last year. Defensive end Jason Peters returns, along with defensive end Anthony Egbuniwe, who played sparingly last season after transferring from Tulsa. Defensive end Emmanuel Dieke (D-A-K) enrolled early and has impressed the staff, and defensive end Antonio Wilson is a redshirt freshman who didn't start playing football until his junior year in high school. There's no shortage of bodies at end, but experience and the interior line is another matter.
"Anytime you lose guys that have played as much football as they have, there's an adjustment," Smith said, "but I think we've done a good job of keeping talent coming in. Although it will be a little bit inexperienced, I think it's a great challenge. It's like I told them last year, all the eyes were on us for one reason, now all the eyes are on us again for a different reason. I think they're excited about the challenge and I think people will be surprised when they see the caliber of players we have at Georgia Tech."

Morgan said he's heard all off-season about what the Yellow Jackets don't have coming back on the defensive line.
"I kind of expected that," Morgan said. "We're just going to take that with a grain of salt, work hard, and use it as motivation, which is kind of an advantage. Teams are going to probably underestimate our d-line and not take as much time to game-plan for us like they did last year. We're going to have to go out there and prove ourselves, which is no problem for us."

Like Barnes, Morgan, too, has something to prove. He said he wants to silence come critics who don't think he can be as effective as he was last year without the veteran lineup beside him.

"God-willing that's what I'm aiming for, that's what I'm working for," he said of a breakout season. "I know there are going to be skeptics who say, well, can he do the same thing he did last year without the three veterans? I want to go out there and prove I can do everything I did last year and more."

There's no doubt the Yellow Jackets will need him to.
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Glad to see he's doing well.
 
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