Tanner Morgan returning to Minnesota Gophers for 6th season
Tanner Morgan is locked and loaded to be the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Gophers next season.
Morgan announced Sunday – one day after helping the Gophers beat the Wisconsin Badgers – that he'll return for a sixth season of eligibility in 2022, which is possible due to the NCAA determining that the 2020 season, which was shortened by the coronavirus pandemic, does not count against eligibility.
"I'll be back," Morgan told the Pioneer Press.
Almost as soon as word about Morgan's plans to return went public, redshirt sophomore quarterback Jacob Clark announced that he's entered the transfer portal and will leave the University of Minnesota. Clark was a 4-star recruit out of Rockwall, Texas and played in just one game with the Gophers.
I love my teammates and I’m so thankful for my time and experiences at the University of Minnesota.
— Jacob Clark (@JacobClark_12) November 28, 2021
I am excited to officially enter the transfer portal and pursue my next opportunity.
Fellow quarterback Zach Annexstad announced he is also entering the transfer portal. Annexstad is a Mankato native and a 3-star recruit that started seven games for Minnesota during the 2018 season. Annexstad was injured, missed the entire 2019 season and served as Morgan's backup for the past three years.
Thank you, @GopherFootball pic.twitter.com/kKTVuMZCuA
— Zack Annexstad (@ZackAnnexstad) November 29, 2021
What happens with the other quarterbacks on the roster is unknown.
Behind Morgan on the depth chart is Cole Kramer and Athen Kaliakmanis. Kramer played as Minnesota's wildcat quarterback this season; and Kaliakmanis, a 4-star recruit from Illinois, will be a redshirt freshman next season. Jacob Knuth, a 3-star quarterback from Harrisburg, South Dakota, is an incoming freshman next season.
Morgan has had back-to-back down seasons after lighting up the Big Ten in 2019 when he completed 66% of his attempts while throwing for 30 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. But that was with now-NFL receivers Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman catching his passes.
In 2020, Morgan's completion percentage dipped to 57.9% and he threw for just seven touchdowns in seven games. This season, Morgan is hitting on 59.5% of his attempts and has just 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 12 games.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.