College coaches love versatility. A player who can play more than one position gives coaches flexibility and makes his roster stretch a little further.
It was versatility that attracted Northwestern to Christian Morgan in November, when Wildcat coaches first started talking to him. And on Wednesday, they rewarded that versatility by offering a scholarship to the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder who could play either cornerback or safety at the next level.
“College coaches say that they love my versatility,” said Morgan. “I can play anywhere in the secondary. I'm quick enough to play corner and physical enough to play safety.”
It was the third offer for Morgan, an unranked 2018 prospect from Humble (Texas) Porter, but the first from an FBS, let alone a Power Five, program. So he was understandably thrilled.
“I felt nothing but excitement,” said Morgan, who also has offers from Illinois State and Stephen F. Austin. “This is my first big offer so when Coach (Pat) Fitzgerald told me he was offering me, I felt nothing but joy.”
Morgan has been impressed by the combination of high-level athletics and academics that the Big Ten school affords.
“Obviously the academic aspect of Northwestern stands out,” said Morgan, who holds a 3.2 GPA. “Coach Fitz made it clear that academics are the main priority there. Also, their recent success on the football field stands out. They had a big win for the program in the Pinstripe Bowl this year.
“I was so excited about the offer because it's my first FBS offer and I'm starting to realize that hard work pays off.”
Morgan says that the Wildcats “weren’t on my radar” when recruiting assistant Bryan Payton first contacted him after his season ended at Porter.
“I knew a little about them but not much. I basically only knew about NU being a prestigious academic university,” he explained.
But Northwestern continued to show interest and he continued to move up the recruiting ladder, talking to Houston area recruiter Randy Bates, then defensive backs coach Jerry Brown and, eventually, Fitzgerald.
Morgan has only visited nearby schools thus far in his recruiting process, traveling to Texas, Texas A&M, Houston and UTSA. He is talking to his parent about the possibility of making the trip to Evanston to check out Northwestern.
He says that distance from home won’t play a role in his decision process.
“I’ll go wherever I feel like I have the best relationship with the coaches,” says Morgan. He’s interested in “a place where I know I can get a great education while being on a great football team.”
Northwestern will lose both its starting safeties when Godwin Igwebuike and Kyle Queiro graduate after the 2017 season, as well as third cornerback and sometime starter Marcus McShepard. Morgan is a player who could eventually fill any of those roles.
While he would be happy playing whatever position he’s asked to play, Morgan admits that he prefers the challenge of playing cornerback.
“I want to be that guy who can take away the opposing team’s No. 1 threat,” he said.
