From Kentucky to Minnesota: Gophers’ QB Tanner Morgan’s first love was football

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by: Daniel House (@DanielHouseNFL)

A 9-year-old quarterback rolled out of the pocket and surveyed his options. With less than a minute remaining in the semifinal game, his team needed a score to win. It was finally time to overcome all of the pressure and punch a ticket to the “Super Bowl.” Tanner Morgan escaped the pocket and fired a pass downfield. The defensive back pulled forward and Morgan’s throw whizzed into the arms of his wide receiver for a game-winning touchdown.

Even at a young age, the fiery Kentucky quarterback was not afraid of big moments. After getting in the car, Tanner’s father, Ted Morgan, was ready for their annual postgame drive. This time, Ted had to find out what Tanner saw when he rolled out of the pocket.

“On the way home, I just said, ‘that was a really nice pass.’ And he looked at me, and he said, ‘I knew if I rolled out, the defender had to make a decision. If he stayed with the receiver, I would run it in. If he came to me, I had my guy open, so I hit him,’” Ted Morgan said. “That’s kind of when I knew that he was a little different than most 9-year-old kids.”

When Tanner was six years old, he walked into a huddle for the first time. Almost fifteen years later, the ultra-competitive quarterback has never left the position.

Ted Morgan helped coach his son’s teams from sixth grade, until Tanner’s junior year in high school. While in middle school, Tanner Morgan spent time studying coverages to better understand defensive schemes. Ted said Tanner’s ability to diagnose and discover tendencies started at a young age. He remembered a sixth grade game where Tanner helped invent his own play. A simple vertical “go route” suddenly turned into an ultra-skinny post. When Morgan went off script, the “slice route” was accidentally born.

“I’m like, ‘that was a great throw, but what was that?’ He goes, ‘the guy had outside leverage on him and I just threw him open. I knew that there was nobody in the middle and I knew if I threw it right there close enough, that my guy was going to grab it,’” Morgan’s father said. “We didn’t even have that play. You can’t teach that, he just got that.”

The duo’s postgame drive always turned into a conversation about the game. However, every time, Ted mentioned any aspect of his son’s performance, Tanner always highlighted the contributions of a teammate. Even if Morgan made a tremendous throw that night, another player received credit.

“He never wanted to talk about himself, it was always other people,” Ted Morgan said. “Once a week, he would take candy bars and Gatorades to his offensive linemen and hand them out.”

It was a small gesture to thank the players who protected him every week. Now, in college, Morgan continues this tradition at the University of Minnesota. When his teammates least expect it, the doorbell rings and warm cookies arrive at their doorstep.

“Today, he’s carried it on and every now and then he’ll get his offensive linemen Insomnia Cookies,” Morgan’s father said. “Tanner will go out and pay for those guys’ cookies and have them delivered.”

Morgan’s leadership skills and work ethic have helped him bring teams to uncharted territory. Prior to his junior season, Tanner transferred to Ryle High School in Kentucky. He flipped the script of a struggling football program and led the Raiders to 9-3 and 12-1 records. Morgan became one of ten players in Kentucky football history to throw for more than 10,000 yards and 100 touchdowns. He accomplished this while playing within a high school offense featuring a 50-50 run-pass ratio.

Morgan’s football intelligence played a big role in his development, but mechanical improvements changed everything. At 15 years old, Morgan was trained by former East Carolina quarterback Paul Troth. Despite living eight hours apart, Morgan recorded videos and sent them to Troth through an online “eCoach” platform. After reviewing the clips, Troth would send breakdowns and feedback to Morgan and his father. Shortly after working with Troth, Tanner earned his first offer from Wake Forest.

“That’s what really propelled Tanner to get his first offer. [It was] really because of working with Paul on eCoach,” Ted Morgan said. “Tanner’s work ethic is a tremendous example of that. You can give a kid a resource, but if they don’t put time into it and use it, it’s not doing them any good.”


The Recruiting “Process”


The development of Tanner’s fundamentals helped him gain more interest from college programs. Morgan didn’t take many college visits, but after speaking with P.J. Fleck and his staff, he decided to make a midweek trip to Western Michigan. When Tanner and Ted pulled into the football facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, they never expected to have any interest in the school.

“I remember when we got out of the car that morning, I looked at [Tanner], and I was like, ‘hey, we’re just up here for a visit. Nothing is going to happen out of this today.’ He goes, ‘oh, I know,’” Ted Morgan said.

Before the college visits, the Morgan family defined a list of key characteristics they were looking for in a football program. They called this “the process.”

Ted always remembered advice he received from former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer’s assistant, Joey Roberts. Roberts told him, “define what you’re looking for and when the school matches that, and Tanner wants to be in that culture, that’s when it’s over.”

After Tanner and Ted Morgan walked into P.J. Fleck’s office, they immediately connected with the staff’s vision. A routine trip suddenly turned into an unexpected event.

“They answered every question we had out of our process. I could see Tanner jumping out of his chair. We committed,” Tanner’s father said. “My wife wasn’t with me. She got aggravated and wouldn’t talk to us for two days — that’s a true story. So we had to go up the next weekend and P.J. reenacted the commitment to take more pictures with my wife, Pat.”

Morgan’s Relentless Work Ethic

Before enrolling in school early, Morgan continued to work with his quarterback coaches and attended an Elite 11 event in Atlanta. Tanner wanted to see how he stacked up against the nation’s top quarterbacks. Out of 150 quarterbacks in attendance, Morgan was selected to participate in the “Pressure Chamber” competition. He squared off with quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), Chase Brice (Clemson), Jake Bentley (South Carolina) and Jake Fromm (Georgia).

Morgan finished 3-for-5 and only held the ball for three seconds. None of the other top quarterbacks completed more than three passes in the drill.

“There were kids with 30 offers that didn’t get to go to that. Tanner knew that he belonged and that’s all he needed to see,” Morgan’s father said.


Please follow the link below to read more! The next section includes a fantastic story about Tanner's first visit with P.J. Fleck and the staff. I also had a fascinating interview with Tanner's kinesiologist and mechanics coach. You'll want to check it out:


https://www.skornorth.com/gophers-2/2019/10/from-kentucky-to-minnesota-gophers-qb-tanner-morgans-first-love-was-football/
 

This kid is a keeper!


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Great stuff. Ted Morgan has to be incredibly proud of TM2. Clutch player everywhere he’s been. He could end up as the record breaking QB of the most legendary team in modern Gopher history...just a few cream puffs to take care of first. Based on his body of work I have total faith he’s up to the task.
 

The story is great and the link that gets into his mechanics is also very interesting. Really good. Between this and the video interview with Clark that 'die hard gopher' posted in another thread, makes for some real insights into these QB's.
 

This is an awesome read! By all accounts he understood a lot more about football at 9 than I did when I was playing in high school...
 


The story is great and the link that gets into his mechanics is also very interesting. Really good. Between this and the video interview with Clark that 'die hard gopher' posted in another thread, makes for some real insights into these QB's.

What was the title of that thread?


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That was a really fun read. Really glad this kid is a Gopher!


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The story is great and the link that gets into his mechanics is also very interesting. Really good. Between this and the video interview with Clark that 'die hard gopher' posted in another thread, makes for some real insights into these QB's.

Yep, his mechanics are apparently still a work in progress (consistency from throw to throw) which suggests a higher ceiling, if he keeps working at it. There was a clip from fall camp of the three QBs throwing, and the difference between Morgan’s throwing motion/release and the other two was very clear. I hope Clark is working with someone on that.


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by: Daniel House (@DanielHouseNFL)

A 9-year-old quarterback rolled out of the pocket and surveyed his options. With less than a minute remaining in the semifinal game, his team needed a score to win. It was finally time to overcome all of the pressure and punch a ticket to the “Super Bowl.” Tanner Morgan escaped the pocket and fired a pass downfield. The defensive back pulled forward and Morgan’s throw whizzed into the arms of his wide receiver for a game-winning touchdown.

Even at a young age, the fiery Kentucky quarterback was not afraid of big moments. After getting in the car, Tanner’s father, Ted Morgan, was ready for their annual postgame drive. This time, Ted had to find out what Tanner saw when he rolled out of the pocket.

“On the way home, I just said, ‘that was a really nice pass.’ And he looked at me, and he said, ‘I knew if I rolled out, the defender had to make a decision. If he stayed with the receiver, I would run it in. If he came to me, I had my guy open, so I hit him,’” Ted Morgan said. “That’s kind of when I knew that he was a little different than most 9-year-old kids.”

When Tanner was six years old, he walked into a huddle for the first time. Almost fifteen years later, the ultra-competitive quarterback has never left the position.

Ted Morgan helped coach his son’s teams from sixth grade, until Tanner’s junior year in high school. While in middle school, Tanner Morgan spent time studying coverages to better understand defensive schemes. Ted said Tanner’s ability to diagnose and discover tendencies started at a young age. He remembered a sixth grade game where Tanner helped invent his own play. A simple vertical “go route” suddenly turned into an ultra-skinny post. When Morgan went off script, the “slice route” was accidentally born.

“I’m like, ‘that was a great throw, but what was that?’ He goes, ‘the guy had outside leverage on him and I just threw him open. I knew that there was nobody in the middle and I knew if I threw it right there close enough, that my guy was going to grab it,’” Morgan’s father said. “We didn’t even have that play. You can’t teach that, he just got that.”

The duo’s postgame drive always turned into a conversation about the game. However, every time, Ted mentioned any aspect of his son’s performance, Tanner always highlighted the contributions of a teammate. Even if Morgan made a tremendous throw that night, another player received credit.

“He never wanted to talk about himself, it was always other people,” Ted Morgan said. “Once a week, he would take candy bars and Gatorades to his offensive linemen and hand them out.”

It was a small gesture to thank the players who protected him every week. Now, in college, Morgan continues this tradition at the University of Minnesota. When his teammates least expect it, the doorbell rings and warm cookies arrive at their doorstep.

“Today, he’s carried it on and every now and then he’ll get his offensive linemen Insomnia Cookies,” Morgan’s father said. “Tanner will go out and pay for those guys’ cookies and have them delivered.”

Morgan’s leadership skills and work ethic have helped him bring teams to uncharted territory. Prior to his junior season, Tanner transferred to Ryle High School in Kentucky. He flipped the script of a struggling football program and led the Raiders to 9-3 and 12-1 records. Morgan became one of ten players in Kentucky football history to throw for more than 10,000 yards and 100 touchdowns. He accomplished this while playing within a high school offense featuring a 50-50 run-pass ratio.

Morgan’s football intelligence played a big role in his development, but mechanical improvements changed everything. At 15 years old, Morgan was trained by former East Carolina quarterback Paul Troth. Despite living eight hours apart, Morgan recorded videos and sent them to Troth through an online “eCoach” platform. After reviewing the clips, Troth would send breakdowns and feedback to Morgan and his father. Shortly after working with Troth, Tanner earned his first offer from Wake Forest.

“That’s what really propelled Tanner to get his first offer. [It was] really because of working with Paul on eCoach,” Ted Morgan said. “Tanner’s work ethic is a tremendous example of that. You can give a kid a resource, but if they don’t put time into it and use it, it’s not doing them any good.”


The Recruiting “Process”


The development of Tanner’s fundamentals helped him gain more interest from college programs. Morgan didn’t take many college visits, but after speaking with P.J. Fleck and his staff, he decided to make a midweek trip to Western Michigan. When Tanner and Ted pulled into the football facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, they never expected to have any interest in the school.

“I remember when we got out of the car that morning, I looked at [Tanner], and I was like, ‘hey, we’re just up here for a visit. Nothing is going to happen out of this today.’ He goes, ‘oh, I know,’” Ted Morgan said.

Before the college visits, the Morgan family defined a list of key characteristics they were looking for in a football program. They called this “the process.”

Ted always remembered advice he received from former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer’s assistant, Joey Roberts. Roberts told him, “define what you’re looking for and when the school matches that, and Tanner wants to be in that culture, that’s when it’s over.”

After Tanner and Ted Morgan walked into P.J. Fleck’s office, they immediately connected with the staff’s vision. A routine trip suddenly turned into an unexpected event.

“They answered every question we had out of our process. I could see Tanner jumping out of his chair. We committed,” Tanner’s father said. “My wife wasn’t with me. She got aggravated and wouldn’t talk to us for two days — that’s a true story. So we had to go up the next weekend and P.J. reenacted the commitment to take more pictures with my wife, Pat.”

Morgan’s Relentless Work Ethic

Before enrolling in school early, Morgan continued to work with his quarterback coaches and attended an Elite 11 event in Atlanta. Tanner wanted to see how he stacked up against the nation’s top quarterbacks. Out of 150 quarterbacks in attendance, Morgan was selected to participate in the “Pressure Chamber” competition. He squared off with quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), Chase Brice (Clemson), Jake Bentley (South Carolina) and Jake Fromm (Georgia).

Morgan finished 3-for-5 and only held the ball for three seconds. None of the other top quarterbacks completed more than three passes in the drill.

“There were kids with 30 offers that didn’t get to go to that. Tanner knew that he belonged and that’s all he needed to see,” Morgan’s father said.


Please follow the link below to read more! The next section includes a fantastic story about Tanner's first visit with P.J. Fleck and the staff. I also had a fascinating interview with Tanner's kinesiologist and mechanics coach. You'll want to check it out:


https://www.skornorth.com/gophers-2/2019/10/from-kentucky-to-minnesota-gophers-qb-tanner-morgans-first-love-was-football/

"Tanner Morgan again had the chance to help take a football program to new heights. A few years later, Morgan is now the leader of an offense that is shattering school records. Minnesota has started the season with an 8-0 record for the first time since 1941. After becoming a starter last year, the Gophers’ quarterback has a 12-2 record and is thriving in offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca’s offense."


Thanks Daniel for another fine expose!

I can now see how TM and the Gophers Offense are a perfect match at the right moment in Gopher football history. This kid quietly just wins and will shatter records at the U before he is done. He has that compact quick release and accurate throw. He is perfect for the RPO scheme that the Gophers are running with his high football IQ. He reminds me somewhat of Drew Brees.
 
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Thank you for the story! He's an impressive young man and I'm thankful we have him.
 




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