Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BY LOU SOMOGYI A year ago at this time, middle linebacker Nyles Morgan was Notre Dame's top-rated recruit in its 23-man class. His No. 53 ranking in the 247Sports Composite of all the recruiting services was ahead of offensive lineman Quenton Nelson's No. 62 finish and wide receiver Justin Brent at No. 94, among the nation's top 100. Thus, 2014 Freshman All-America status was conceivable for Morgan because not only did he arrive with the most fanfare, but he also was pro- jected to immediately aid a huge area of need. First, 2014 starting Mike linebacker Jarrett Grace suffered a shattered leg in October 2013 during a victory against Arizona State, and his status for 2014 was in doubt. Next, the top two inside linebackers from 2013, Dan Fox and Carlo Calabrese, had both graduated. Finally, stepping in at middle or Mike linebacker in the spring was for- mer walk-on Joe Schmidt. Surely, a top-ranked Fighting Irish recruit such as Morgan could supplant a former walk-on, correct? Indeed, this January the 6-1, 230-pound Morgan became Notre Dame's fifth Football Writers of As- sociation of America (FWAA) Fresh- man All-American since the award was first presented in 2001. A month earlier he was named to the 2014 Sport- ing News Freshman All-America team. "I'm very honored and blessed by that, but I always want to get better," Morgan said. How he arrived to such status was less conventional, leading to questions again about how the three linebacker positions at Notre Dame — Mike, Will and Sam — eventually will shake out in 2015. HUMBLE ROOTS Morgan recorded 47 tackles as a freshman despite not seeing extensive action at linebacker until Nov. 1, when Team MVP Schmidt suffered a season- ending fractured and dislocated ankle early in the second half of the 49-39 victory against Navy. A starter in four of the last five games — Morgan sat out the first half at USC because of a targeting infrac- tion in the second half of the previous week's Louisville game — the rookie linebacker registered double-digit tackles in each of his last three regu- lar-season games, with a season-high 11 (all in the second half) in the 49-14 debacle at USC. Objectively, Morgan's Freshman All- America honor was accorded more on raw data than on difference-making impact. In the final six regular-sea- son contests, the Irish surrendered 40 points per game — not all on the de- fense — while playing an inordinate amount of sophomores and freshmen. "I would say I didn't do too bad," replied Morgan when asked to evalu- ate his first season. "Of course, I'm still learning. It's all a process for me. As long as I keep learning it shouldn't be an issue. … Being a freshman is not easy in college football. Once we get over that hump, I think we'll be okay." In his first meeting with the media during preparation for the 31-28 Mu- sic City Bowl win over LSU, Morgan demonstrated a poised maturity, pol- ish, humor and confidence that belied