David Morgan II
{{Short description|American football player (born 1993)}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = David Morgan II
| image = David Morgan II.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Morgan in 2017
| current_team =
| number = 89
| position = Tight end
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1993|5|19}}
| birth_place = Marble Falls, Texas, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 4
| weight_lbs = 265
| high_school = Marble Falls
| draftyear = 2016
| draftround = 6
| draftpick = 188
| college = UTSA (2011–2015)
| pastteams =
- Minnesota Vikings ({{NFL Year|2016}}–{{NFL Year|2019}})
| highlights =
- Second-team All-American (2015)
- Second-team All-CUSA (2015)
| statlabel1 = Receptions
| statvalue1 = 16
| statlabel2 = Receiving yards
| statvalue2 = 135
| statlabel3 = Receiving touchdowns
| statvalue3 = 1
| pfr = MorgDa01
}}
David Morgan II (born May 19, 1993) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UTSA Roadrunners from 2011 to 2015 and became the school's first draftee when the Vikings selected him in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL draft.{{Cite web|title=UTSA's David Morgan II becomes first NFL draft pick in program's history|url=https://www.utsa.edu/today/2016/05/morgan.html|access-date=September 12, 2021|website=www.utsa.edu}}
Early life
Born in Marble Falls, Texas, Morgan attended Marble Falls High School. A basketball and soccer player his entire life, Morgan started his football journey as a quarterback. From eighth grade on, he started playing as a wide receiver and helped lead his team to its first playoff appearance. He recorded 27 receptions for 478 yards (17.7 avg.) and eight touchdowns en route to first-team all-district honors as a junior. As a senior in 2010, he received second-team class 4A all-state, Austin American-Statesman first-team All-Centex and first-team All-District 25-4A honors after hauling in 68 passes for 1,251 yards (18.4 avg.) and 14 touchdowns. Aside from football, Morgan was a three-time academic all-district honoree and earned honorable mention academic all-state accolades as a senior and also participated in track & field at Marble.
College career
At UTSA, Morgan served as the go-to target for his quarterback. Playing as a reserve in 2011, Morgan flashed talent by catching 13 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns, with at least one reception in the opening nine contests. He posted a career-long catch-and-run of 63 yards in the season opener against Northeastern State. The following year, Morgan redshirted due to injury and managed just seven catches for 69 yards in his return in 2013. He earned honorable mention All-Conference USA (CUSA) recognition as a junior in 2014, nabbing 20 passes for 255 yards and a score while missing more time with another injury. As a senior in 2015, Morgan started all 12 games for the Roadrunners and was named a second-team All-American and second-team All-CUSA selection after finishing among the leading tight ends in the country with 45 receptions for 566 yards and setting the school's single-season record for touchdowns with five while also proving to be a great blocker (Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded him as the top run-blocking tight end in the nation). He twice managed nine receptions in a game during the season, against Louisiana Tech and Arizona, with his 109-yard effort against the Wildcats being UTSA's first 100-yard receiving game in three years. Morgan refused to take all the credit, saying in the press release: "This is an outstanding honor, one that would not have been possible without my coaches and teammates. To become the first All-American in UTSA history is something that is very humbling.”
=College statistics=
Professional career
Prior to the draft, NFL.com ranked Morgan tenth overall among tight ends.{{cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/david-morgan?id=2555306|title=TE - David Morgan|work=nfl.com}} Morgan was invited to perform at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, becoming the first player to attend this event in the history of UTSA. In the bench press testing, he ranked number one among tight ends with an official score of 29 repetitions. He also finished first in the 20-yard shuttle with a 4.19-second run, completed the 3-cone drill in 6.93 seconds to place third and took fifth with a time of 11.60 seconds in the 60-yard shuttle. At his pro day, Morgan improved in both his 40-yard dash (4.83 seconds) and vertical jump (32 inches) in front of over 20 NFL scouts.
{{ external media
| video1 = [http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/videos/2016-Combine-workout-David-Morgan/bf596016-cb83-40d5-a64c-3309ce74466b Morgan's NFL Combine workout]
| video2 = [http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/0ap3000000658762/Vikings-pick-David-Morgan-II-No-188 Morgan gets drafted by Minnesota]
}}
{{nfl predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 4
| weight = 262
| dash = 4.83
| ten split = 1.68
| twenty split = 2.82
| shuttle = 4.19
| cone drill = 6.93
| vertical = 32
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 7
| bench = 29
| wonderlic =
| arm span = {{fraction|33|5|8}}
| hand span = {{fraction|10|1|2}}
| note = All values from NFL Combine except 40 time and vertical from UTSA's Pro Day
}}
After moving up eight slots in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL draft, the Minnesota Vikings acquired the 188th overall pick and selected Morgan,{{Cite web |title=2016 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2016/draft.htm |access-date=May 15, 2023 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} making him the first ever player from UTSA to be drafted.
As a rookie in 2016, Morgan played 11 games and had one reception for four receiving yards.
On November 12, 2017, Morgan caught his first career touchdown against the Washington Redskins.
On August 31, 2019, Morgan was placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list to start the season after undergoing knee surgery in the offseason.{{cite web|title=Vikings Announce Roster Moves, Set Initial 53-Man Roster|url=https://www.vikings.com/news/vikings-2019-roster-cuts-53-man-roster|website=Vikings.com|date=August 31, 2019}} Later, in February 2020, it was revealed that Morgan season suffered a knee dislocation in a 2018 game against the Detroit Lions.
Morgan was released by the Vikings on March 13, 2020, with a failed physical designation.{{cite news |author=Williams, Charean |title=Vikings also cutting David Morgan |url=https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/03/13/report-vikings-also-cutting-david-morgan/ |website=NBCSports.com |date=March 13, 2020 |accessdate=March 14, 2020}}
=NFL statistics=
| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan=2|Season !! rowspan=2|Team !! colspan=2|Games !! colspan=8|Receiving | |||||||||
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | 1st | +20 | +40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| colspan=16|Regular season | |||||||||
| 2016 | Minnesota Vikings
| 11 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 4.0 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||
| 2017 | Minnesota Vikings
| 15 || 6 || 10 || 95 || 9.5 || 23 || 1 || 5 || 1 || 0 | ||||||||
| || Total
| 26 || 6 || 11 || 99 || 9.0 || 23 || 1 || 5 || 1 || 0 |
Personal life
Morgan has a tight bond with his family, particularly his parents and his fiancé, Langlie Cooley. Morgan frequently consults with them for important decisions, notably various aspects of the process of transitioning from college football to the NFL. Outside of football, Morgan enjoys the outdoors and frequently goes hunting and fishing.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rowdytalk.com/showthread.php/7740-Episode-19-UTSA-TE-David-Effing-Morgan|title=[Podcast] Episode 19 - #UTSA TE David Effing Morgan|website=www.rowdytalk.com|access-date=November 14, 2016}} Morgan has an eclectic taste in music and has a penchant for James Taylor, born from exposure from his parents as a kid.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons}}
- [http://goutsa.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=2602&mobile=skip UTSA Roadrunners bio]
- [http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/david-morgan?id=2555306 NFL Combine bio]
{{Vikings2016DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, David II}}
Category:People from Marble Falls, Texas
Category:American football tight ends
Category:Minnesota Vikings players