Michigan Football Q&A: Desmond Morgan
10/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 4, 2015
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan players and coaches will sit down with Steve Kornacki of MGoBlue.com weekly during the 2015 season to discuss U-M football. Senior linebacker Desmond Morgan spoke on Sunday (Oct. 4) about the 28-0 win at Maryland on Saturday (Oct. 3), Coach Jim Harbaugh's inspirational "glass half full or half empty" speech, and this Saturday's (Oct. 10) game against unbeaten Northwestern at Michigan Stadium. He has 259 career tackles for the Wolverines.
Q. What was the plane ride back like for you and your teammates?
A. It was good. Obviously, whenever you get a win it's a lot more exciting. Everyone was happy and in high spirits after the win. It was a real good overall trip.
Q. Willie Henry's sack of Maryland quarterback Daxx Garman was quite a show of strength. That forced a punt, and Jehu Chesson went down the left sideline for a 66-yard touchdown run on the next play to make it 21-0. Take us back to the field for those two plays and share your observations and emotions.
A. That's what makes football the greatest team sport there is with the way we were able to feed off each other offensively and defensively. That momentum really helps you roll forward.
Q. You have 30 tackles and Joe Bolden has 32. You are one-two on the team in that category, and you've done a great job of replacing Jake Ryan. What makes you and Joe click so well in the middle?
A. We've known each other for a long time and know each other's strengths and weaknesses, and we know how to communicate with each other well. We can talk about the tendencies before the ball is snapped. We were roommates last year and we know each other pretty well.
Q. You played only the opener last season because of an injury, but getting a medical redshirt year granted enabled you to play this season. What are your thoughts on having this opportunity?
A. It's awesome and has been a blessing in disguise. Having the ability to come back after that injury and play football again was really nice. You want to make the most of every opportunity because you never know how many opportunities you are going to get. The injury was heart-breaking, and you don't know how long your career is going to last.
Q. Why did you select No. 3 for this season? You started out with No. 44 and then wore No. 48 to honor Gerald Ford before that practice of honoring retired numbers was discontinued.
A. When we got away from the Legends' jerseys, I thought of going back to 44. But there was already a guy wearing that, Delano Hill. But I actually wore No. 3 my senior year in high school because I started playing quarterback, too. I thought the 48 I was wearing in high school would look a little funny in the backfield. So, I switched to No. 3 that year, and I thought, why not give it another try? I caught some grief and I thought it might look a bit funny, but I stuck with it.
Q. Since you played quarterback as a two-way player at Holland (Michigan) West Ottawa, you've played the two chess master positions on opposite sides of the ball. How does that experience help you play linebacker?
A. You're in a leadership position whether you're playing middle linebacker or quarterback. You are going to have to direct traffic and make sure everyone is on the same page. That's something you really have to do as a quarterback, but people don't realize how much you do it as a linebacker. You're a leader in the moment, and you have to get people to switch up before the snap.
Q. You smear a lot of eye black on your face for games. That helps with glare, but is it a Batman look?
A. (Laughter) I never really wore eye black like that before. I just wore the eye black strips, but I tried this in the spring game this year. I liked it and I stuck with it. There is a glare factor, but a lot of it is the 'look' factor.
Q. Tell us about D.J. Durkin the linebacker coach, and what makes him such an exceptional defensive coordinator and motivator?
A. The first thing is, he's a fiery guy. You won't find a more fiery or intense coach in the nation. He brings a lot of passion to the practice field every day. He's like he is in games. And so we learn to practice how we play, and play how we practice as well. He draws up a lot of great schemes, and does a good job of explaining things in the meeting room and talking us through it on the field -- especially with the linebackers -- and getting us in the right fits. Coach Durkin, Coach (Greg) Mattison and our defensive backs coaches (Greg Jackson and Michael Zordich) have been drawing up some really good game plans.
Q. You mentioned the term 'fits.' Explain that term and how it relates to gap assignments for each player.
A. It's all about the gap controls -- especially when we get the D-line doing some movement. You've got to be tuned in to where a certain guy in front of you is headed to a certain gap. It's not just lining up in a gap and playing it. You've got to be in tune to that and know where you fit in the defense. Everybody out there is a piece of the puzzle and needs to know where they fit out there.
Q. What's your favorite moment with Coach Jim Harbaugh up to this point?
A. I'm a big fan of the speech he gives to us on the night before each game. It's before we watch the movie, and it's something philosophical in nature or something that's on his mind. I always get a kick out of them. The way he explains it or it comes out is always pretty comical. Sometimes it's hard to read where his head's at or where he's going with things. But the next morning, I always say, "There's a pretty good message in there."
One of my favorites was when he talked about whether the glass is half full or half empty. He said, "I don't know why people look at it like that. In my mind, if something's half full and you like what's in the glass, you should fill it all the way up. But if it's half empty and you don't like what's in it, you might as well throw it out and get some new stuff." (Laughter) I've never heard anyone put it like that before.
Q. Northwestern is coming off a 27-0 shutout of Minnesota. This could be quite a game on Saturday. What are you expecting?
A. We're excited. We just started to watch film today, and we've been keeping our eye on Northwestern. They've been playing great football throughout the season, and we have a tremendous challenge in front of us. Their offense is putting up points and their defense has been lights-out. It'll be fun on Saturday.
Q. Tell us about your student teaching at Saline High School, and what you hope to do in education when your football career is over.
A. I'll graduate in December, and student teaching was a great experience. It was a real-life experience. I had a tremendous mentor teacher (Deb Budnik, 10th grade U.S. history) that I learned from and I had great students at Saline High School. I learned about working with kids and learning how to teach -- which translates into coaching.
One of the things I hope to do when I'm done playing football -- however far that goes -- is do some teaching and then move into administration. I like being around kids and working in a school system. I've always felt comfortable and my dad (Scott Morgan) is a high school administrator at the West Michigan Academy of Environmental Science. Education runs in the family a little bit with my grandpa as well in similar fields. I can see being a superintendent somewhere down the line.
Q. How good is life right now?
A. Whenever you win, life is good, right? Everyone is in high spirits with the way the last couple weeks have gone (with consecutive shutouts), and we're still really hungry as well. We're chasing a lot of goals.
