Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/699309
90 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW As a freshman in 2014, Morgan became the fourth consecutive Fighting Irish defenseman — and fifth in six years — to earn Freshman All- America honors from at least one recognized outlet. Both the Football Writers Association of America and Sporting News placed Morgan on their first team among rookies. His career path appeared to be on the same trajectory as previous Notre Dame Freshman All-America linebackers Manti Te'o in 2009 (College Football News) and Jaylon Smith in 2013 (247Sports "True Freshman" Team). It was a harbinger of both becoming Butkus Award recipients, Te'o for the 12-1 Irish as a senior in 2012, and Smith as a junior for the 10-3 unit in 2015. Yet unlike Te'o and Smith, the second act for Morgan had neither a leading performance nor a curtain call — and he barely even appeared on the stage. Although Morgan played in all 13 games in 2015 as a special teams regular — his eight tackles (all on kickoffs) were the second most on the squad to fifth-year senior Jarrett Grace's 10 (six on kickoffs and four on punts) — he was a non-entity on defense while apprenticing behind fifth-year senior captain Joe Schmidt, the wounded warrior he replaced in the final five and a half games of 2014 to earn his accolades. According to Blue & Gold Illustrated's count, Morgan took fewer snaps on defense in 2015 (41) than he had tackles in 2014 (47). Consequently, Morgan's lack of playing time as a sophomore was perhaps the foremost controversy that swirled around whether second- year defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder's scheme was so complex that it prevented him from putting his best players/athletes on the field. The 2015 Debate When Smith arrived at Notre Dame in the summer of 2013 as a five-star prospect and the nation's No. 1 linebacker, head coach Brian Kelly was asked if the freshman sensation might be a bit overwhelmed in then defensive coordinator Bob Diaco's more elaborate college scheme. "When it comes to coaching, if we make it that complicated that I can't get Jaylon Smith on the field then we're not really good coaches. It's that simple," Kelly replied. "… We can make it such that we can get talented players like Jaylon Smith on the field." Therein was the crux of the 2015 debate amongst Fighting Irish faithful on whether the veteran lion heart but physically limited former walk-on Schmidt or the more athletically gifted and larger Morgan should be on the field. Seventeen former Notre Dame players participated this spring in the pro day showcase for NFL scouts. One of them was not Schmidt, who had already achieved in football far beyond what anyone could have envisioned. Conversely, while Morgan did not arrive with quite the same fanfare as Smith and Te'o, he and Although he played only 41 snaps on defense last year, Morgan is projected to be a vital cog in the attack this year at Mike linebacker. PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS 'This Is HIS TIME' Junior Nyles Morgan is preparing for a strong third act at Mike linebacker BY LOU SOMOGYI T he sophomore slump — or sophomore jinx — is a common term in athletics that refers to the second act not living up to the more productive or inspired first one. It is to the sports world what sequels are to movies (Godfather II a notable exception, of course). No one in recent years at Notre Dame better manifested this dynamic than current junior Mike linebacker Nyles Morgan the past two seasons.