Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 7, 2016 17 BY MATT JONES T here are essentially two differ- ent versions of Nyles Morgan. There's the 6-1, 245-pound junior middle linebacker for the Notre Dame football team, a fe- rocious playmaker known for his big hits. Then there's the softer side, the psychology major that enjoys debat- ing philosophy and picking some- one's brain. Don't confuse the two. There are hard lines drawn for Morgan. "It's like a switch," Morgan said. "When I put the helmet on and get in my pads, I don't even worry about life outside of football." When the Crete, Ill., native is con- centrating on football, he's among the top performers the Irish have. Through seven games, Morgan tal- lied a team-high 58 tackles, plus three tackles for loss, two sacks, a fumble recovery and two passes broken up. He also recorded Notre Dame's first sack of the season, in the loss to Duke. What makes Morgan the archetype Irish middle linebacker — a player who is typically a strong leader and the voice of the defense — is his abil- ity to connect with teammates. His puts his psychology skills to work in the locker room, reading and handling the different personalities on the team. For example, Morgan said a player such as sophomore de- fensive tackle Jerry Tillery needs to be pushed much harder than sopho- more linebacker Te'von Coney. Instead, he focuses on coaching up Coney and showing him the ropes rather than using a more demonstra- tive, in-your-face approach. "He's somebody you can't really like yell at. He'll just kind of shut down," Morgan said of Coney. "That's not what I need. I need him to operate." Morgan is able to evaluate his teammates and maximize their skills. "Especially being on a leader on the team, guys have to listen to you and you have to know how to talk to cer- tain people," Morgan said. "Some peo- ple you can get through like this, and some like this and this and this. But that might not work for this person. "It helps knowing who and how to talk to people." Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly gave his own evaluation of Morgan after the team's bye week. "What I see with him more than anything else is he's not afraid to hold his teammates accountable," Kelly said of Morgan. "He'll speak up from that standpoint. He's tough; he's com- mitted. He loves to play the game. "I think probably if there's one thing that has changed, his presence is felt every day on the practice field and in the meetings." It's not a shock that Morgan is excel- ling for the Irish. He made 100 tack- les as a senior at Crete-Monee High School and was a consensus four-star recruit according to the scouting ser- vices. Rivals rated him as the No. 5 inside linebacker and No. 72 overall player nationally. He picked Notre Dame over Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. But the former U.S. Army All- American had to wait his turn to show his skills in South Bend. He was a backup to Joe Schmidt during the 2014 season, and then took a full-time role for the final five games after Schmidt broke his ankle against Navy. Morgan finished the season seventh on the team with 47 tackles and added 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one pass broken up and one quarterback hurry. That earned him Freshman All- America honors from the Football Writers Association of America and Sporting News. However, he was forced to take a backseat to a banged-up Schmidt as a sophomore in 2015, playing just 41 snaps — all in blowout wins over Texas and Massachusetts. One player in particular showed Morgan the ropes. Former Notre Dame linebacker Jarrett Grace wel- comed Morgan, who admitted he "wasn't the nicest guy" when he ar- rived on campus in 2014. "I remember when I got here, he was coming off his leg surgery, he was busting his tail more than any- body," Morgan said of Grace. "He was so happy just to play special teams — I'd never seen that before. A guy that wanted it more than me, that made me push even harder." The two didn't immediately con- nect, Morgan said. But as the hot shot, blue-chip recruit came along both on and off the field, Morgan and Grace became good friends and still exchange text messages. "That was my big brother from an- other mother," Morgan said. "When I got here, I didn't know anybody, but JG always had his arms open, and he was always willing to show me the ropes. Him, Jaylon [Smith], Joe [Schmidt], all those guys. JG, his spirit would bring you along by itself." With Schmidt gone, Morgan has taken full control of the defense and has thrived since the firing of de- fensive coordinator Brian VanGorder after the loss to Duke Sept. 24. While he's rotating occasionally with junior Greer Martini in recent games, Mor- gan still ranks second on the team in defensive snaps — tallying 457, which trails only senior cornerback Cole Luke. Morgan is com- fortable in front of the camera — can- did but still cautious — when speaking with the media, al- though Kelly said it's still a chore to get the linebacker in front of a crowd. "Nyles hasn't changed a lot in my dealings with him," Kelly said. "He's becoming a little bit more comfortable. He's not somebody that enjoys getting up in front of a group. I had to kind of push him in front for the last pep rally to get up and speak. He's not that kind of guy. He never has been." His actions speak far louder. ✦ A Cerebral Leader Junior linebacker Nyles Morgan uses his mind to help teammates grow Morgan was leading the team in tackles with 58 through seven games. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA "WHAT I SEE WITH HIM MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IS HE'S NOT AFRAID TO HOLD HIS TEAMMATES ACCOUNTABLE." HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY ON MORGAN