NFL Draft Journey: UConn Linebacker DJ Morgan
DJ Morgan, a linebacker from the University of Connecticut football team, announced on Jan. 3 he was entering the 2022 NFL Draft. The UConn alum is hopeful about a future position on one of many teams looking to rebuild their offensive line.
Morgan began playing tackle football when he was 10 years old. For the longest time, his mother did not want him to play. Since he got his hands on his first Madden video game in 2002, he was begging to play.
Morgan started playing in Downey, Calif., for the Razorbacks. He also played for the Gardena Mohicans.
In middle school, Morgan played in the Pop Warner League with the Bellflower Broncos. Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Richard Sherman played in the same league growing up.
By the time Morgan was in high school, college football was not as big of a priority for him. But after his freshman year, when he received an offer from Vanderbilt, Morgan was “locked in” on playing the game.
Morgan continued his academic and football career at the University of Notre Dame. The Norwalk native played for three years. He redshirted his freshman year and played two games his sophomore year. Morgan originally played safety, but his sophomore year was when he switched to linebacker. During his time there, he worked with a number of people, but the relationships he made on the field were something he enjoyed the most. Morgan noted that he still keeps in touch with Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Miles Boykins. He also keeps in touch with New Orleans Saints running back Tony Jones Jr. Jones and Morgan are best friends and Morgan noted he would be the best man in Jones’ wedding next year.
Morgan then continued his academic and football journey at Connecticut. Before his arrival, the football team had the worst defense in college football history. That didn’t make Morgan shy away from playing there.
“Getting involved with the rebuilding process [is what made me choose UConn,],” Morgan said. “The talent was there; it just needed to be fine-tuned.
“What made me choose UConn at the time coming out of the portal, they had a new defensive coordinator and a new regimen. As a new player, it allowed me to come in at the same time as a new defensive coordinator and see his vision.”
As for his favorite part of UConn, Morgan emphasized how he fed off the energy of the stadium during game days.
“The Rent actually gets really loud. Playing in front of those fans, for those six games that we had, with those guys, it was really fun,” said Morgan. “We fed off of each other; the defense fed off of the momentum.”
Morgan recalled a time where the team played against Illinois. The UConn defense held the Illini to a third down, and Morgan came off of the edge for a strip-sack.
With a rebuilding season ahead for UConn, under the direction of head coach Jim L. Mora, Morgan felt that this hire was crucial for the future success of his former team.
“I think it’s a great hire. I was in high school when he was a coach at UCLA,” Morgan said. “Guys that I know at UCLA liked him and it turned into a winning formula. UConn is in very, very good hands.”
Morgan lived by his own winning formula. In seventh grade, his coach at Gardena gave him great advice about football that quickly became his favorite aspect of the game.
He said, “My coach at Gardena said that football is 80% mental and 20% physical. It’s all a part of the strategic part of football, the different coverages you can use to stop the run and the different run blitzes that come with it.”
This mentality not only helped him on the field, but also off the field when the COVID pandemic heavily affected Morgan’s career. Many athletes can agree that there was a negative impact, but not many people can say that it was a “blessing in disguise.”
“COVID affected us a lot; we missed a whole season,” said Morgan. “Personally, coming off of that 2019 season, I played through a torn labrum and a fractured shoulder, so it gave me extra time to heal from injuries.”
Nonetheless, Morgan continued to push forward to where he is now: entering the 2022 NFL Draft.
“Finishing the 2019 season, I figured after 2020, that would be the time I enter the draft. Things got pushed back another year,” he said. “Finally, to be at this moment, it was a long time coming.”
After seeing rookies like DeVonta Smith and Micah Parsons have successful seasons, Morgan is excited to be one of the hopefuls to have his own breakout season in the NFL.
“It’s definitely motivating and achievable,” said Morgan on how it feels to be the next class to have a successful season. “You picture yourself making those exact plays.”
Morgan overcame a lot of adversity, nonetheless, he persevered. Matt Balis, Notre Dame’s football strength coach at the time, instilled in Morgan and the team to “never flinch at adversity.” Morgan mentioned that adversity is not going anywhere, so they might as well attack it.
As for advice for the new UConn commits, Morgan emphasized one major point:
“Stay focused, that’s the most important thing,” said Morgan. “As long as you keep your main goal, and keep God first, anything is possible.”
