INKED: DE John Morgan signs to Pitt
Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic defensive end John Morgan has signed his National Letter of Intent to continue his athletic and academic career at Pitt. Find out more about Morgan and his recruitment below.
John Morgan became the sixth player to sign with Pitt’s football program in the 2018 recruiting class on the early National Signing Day, joining his classmates signing today in Pitt's recruiting class. Morgan is a 6-foot-3, 235-pound defensive end from Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic and one of two players to commit to Pitt from the powerhouse program near the nation's capital. Here’s a brief look back at his journey as a recruit and his history with Pitt:
Morgan hits the recruiting scene: In the summer before his junior season, John Morgan's recruitment truly began to take off. By the end of the summer of 2016, Morgan held offers from Syracuse, Maryland, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, and Penn State, among other programs. Pitt offered Morgan in the fall of his junior year and he visited for a Thursday night game against Virginia Tech shortly thereafter. Throughout the rest of his junior year, Morgan also went to visits at schools like Rutgers, Maryland, Penn State (twice), Pitt (again, this time during the spring contact period), and Virginia Tech.
Morgan commits to Pitt: After all of his visits and offers, Morgan narrowed his list in May to an unofficial top group of Pitt, Virginia Tech, and Temple and planned a commitment for June 6th. However, he continued to maintain contact with Maryland and Rutgers heading into the decision and didn't eliminate either program. Rather than wait for his planned date, Morgan committed to Pitt earlier than expected on June 4th following a visit to their June prospect camp.
In his words: "They just gave me a feeling that some schools just didn’t top,” Morgan told Panther-Lair.com after committing to Pitt Sunday afternoon. “It was just something that you couldn’t evaluate with just taking visits; you had to get to know coaches and stuff like that, and I really got to know Coach (Charlie) Partridge and Coach (Pat) Narduzzi very well, and they gave me a personal connection that I couldn’t feel at any other school.”
From his coach: "He’s extremely athletic," said DeMatha head coach Elijah Brooks. "He has a strong lower body, he plays well his hands, he’s relentless coming off of the edge. I honestly think he’ll have the versatility to play defensive end. He can grow into an inside interior lineman if need be and he can even stand up as an outside linebacker depending on the scheme. He’s athletic enough to be as good as he wants to be, he just has to put forth the work to do it.”
Morgan's Impact: "More than any other aspect of his skillset, Morgan’s appeal to the Pitt coaching staff is his appeal to get after the quarterback. The DeMatha product shows impressive burst off of the football with the kind of first-step that will leave an offensive tackle at a disadvantage from the moment the ball is snapped. Adding to his explosion, Morgan is a flexible athlete who can get skinny around the edge, dip his shoulder, and either get to the passer or force a tackle into holding him, drawing a flag. His body control, pad level, and ability to stay on balance despite contact allows Morgan to win leverage battles frequently." Read more about Morgan's impact at this link and watch this analysis video from the Rivals staff.
