Tanner Morgan thoughts

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LakevilleBro

LakevilleBro

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Tanner Morgan was a 3 star high school recruit, without any Power 5 offers. PJ saw something in him, and he was set to go to Western Michigan. We were lucky to get both PJ and Tanner. Tanner is now halfway through his college career, and he has 2 bowl wins, is one of the top returning Big Ten players for next season, and people are even talking about him leaving school after his Junior season, for the NFL. That is an amazing 2 year journey for Tanner!! Did Tanner fly under the radar in high school, is PJ that good at finding talent, or did he just improve that much in 2 years? GO GOPHERS!
 

I’m pretty sure the Wake Forest and Louisville offers came before the Western Michigan offer.
 

I think of Drew Brees. 6 foot nothing with only 2 major offers: Purdue and Kentucky. All the big boys inc. all Texas schools passed on him. He didn't turn out too bad. I think TM has a little Brees in him.
 

IIRC, his dad has a lot to do with his early development. Wasn't his dad a HS coach? He moved to a different HS at some point. Maybe his height and transferring to another school played a big part of him being under recruited. I don't know for sure.

I thought Ciarrocca and PJ Fleck had been following his HS career for over two years. He made one recruiting visit trip to WMU and asked PJ Fleck and Ciarrocca some questions. Apparently, he like the answers and made up his mind then to play for PJ Fleck.

When PJ Fleck took the Gophers job, one of the first people he called was Tanner Morgan who was celebrating his commitment to WMU with family and friends. TM told PJ Fleck that he is decommitting from WMU and coming to Minnesota with him. He asked Tanner if he should visit the school first, and he said no he is good.

His Mom had a cake with a W for WMU. They just flipped it so it became an M instead of W.

That is how committed Tanner was to Fleck. He was red shirted and was patiently waiting for his turn which came when Zack Annexstad got hurt.

Can somebody please collaborate my recollection of the story?
 

Tanner did fly under the radar and PJ does seem to have an eye for talent. As far as Tanner improving much, he just seems to have an 'it' factor and has always had it. He finds a way to get it done and is a winner. The guy is a rare breed.
 


Still hard to believe PJ ever chose ZA5 over TM2. TM2 just had the best passing season of any Gopher QB in my lifetime.
 

Word said:
Still hard to believe PJ ever chose ZA5 over TM2. TM2 just had the best passing season of any Gopher QB in my lifetime.
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Who are you talking about?
 

Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
Tanner did fly under the radar and PJ does seem to have an eye for talent. As far as Tanner improving much, he just seems to have an 'it' factor and has always had it. He finds a way to get it done and is a winner. The guy is a rare breed.
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That’s my take on TM2 as well. He is a winner. His whole life he just finds ways to win. Fresno was a prime example.
 

Word said:
Still hard to believe PJ ever chose ZA5 over TM2. TM2 just had the best passing season of any Gopher QB in my lifetime.
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I’m thinking Annexstad does have a lot of potential and I don’t think we’ve seen enough of a HEALTHY Annexstad to really get a good idea of how good he is. My guess is that originally, Annexstad looked better than Morgan. I don’t know.
 



Tanner Morgan was always looking to improve his quarterback play. Help came in the way of WhatApps videos from Rob Williams, a kinesiologist from Vancouver, British Columbia. He incorporated hip movements into his throwing motion, and the rest is history. Williams has communicated with Assistant Athletic Trainer Arno Rheinberger about coming to Minneapolis to discuss his work with the Gophers staff. I surely hope that this is happening because it will help the other QBs on the team.

Gophers’ Tanner Morgan, Cowboys’ Dak Prescott early adopters of new throwing motion
By Andy Greder, Pioneer Press, November 13, 2019

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott became a meme with his pregame hip exercises before he played the Vikings on Sunday Night Football.
...
Quarterback Tanner Morgan has prescribed to incorporating these movements into his throwing motion and will get loose doing versions of them in the weight room and on the practice field. Teammates standing behind Morgan will mimic it and laugh.

“Yeah, they like to make fun of me for it, but it works for me, and it’s something that’s helping me with my fundamentals,” Morgan said Tuesday. “They like to clown on me about it.”

ABC caught Morgan in the act on the sideline during the Gophers’ 31-26 victory over Penn State on Saturday.

... Morgan and those NFL QBs are riding a cutting edge of incorporating elements of kinesiology into their throwing motions. The focus is starting the action in the hips, glutes and the core to create power and speed, instead of a traditional throwing motion centered on footwork and the arm.

Morgan has worked with Rob Williams, a kinesiologist from Vancouver, British Columbia, who said he has trained about 70 quarterbacks at the college and pro level over the past few years. Williams has partnered with Elite 11, the pinnacle of a high school quarterback circuit run by former Ravens QB Trent Dilfer, as well as an NFL team, and has been called on by hall of famer Kurt Warner to work with Warner’s son.

“Tanner is unique on how much he has jumped on it; this is the fourth dimension,” Williams told the Pioneer Press. “This is key. I love it. I hope that more guys look at a guy like Tanner and say, ‘Wait a minute, what has he done differently? Oh, hang on, he’s working on his movement.’ ”

Morgan said last year he relied on using his arm and leaning his upper body into throws.

“I got really bad doing that last year, if you go back and watch the film,” Morgan said Tuesday. “It’s probably a 75 percent chance that you’re going to see a left-leg lockout and just totally lean out and the ball’s going to nose dive. I just got really bad fundamentals last season, so just being able to focus on it in the offseason made a big difference in being able to transform that.”

This season, Morgan has been one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. His QB rating (191.04) is fourth in the country, and his completion percentage (67.9) is 16th. On Wednesday, he was named a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award given to college football’s top quarterback.

After last season, Morgan, who has worked with a handful of other quarterback coaches, started sessions with QB trainer Trenton Kirklin in Nashville. They set up WhatsApp video sessions with Williams in Canada.

“From a quarterback standpoint, it’s being compact and having the most efficient movement,” Kirklin said. “It’s cutting every piece of fat on the steak out and being as finely trimmed as possible.

“To Tanner’s credit, we are simply giving him the tools. He is the one that puts all the work in, and it’s all come to fruition now. He is one of the hardest-working kids I’ve ever seen.”

Morgan has been one of the biggest recalibrations, Williams said. Morgan will take the lessons, apply them in drills and send footage back to Williams for critiques

This extra work jibes with what Gophers offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kirk Ciarrocca wants out of Morgan.

“Maybe 20 years ago, I might have been sensitive about it,” Ciarrocca said Wednesday. “But in today’s day and age, these kids start working with people when they are real young and all that, and some of the guys are really good.”

NCAA rules keep coaches from practicing with players in the offseason, so Ciarrocca wants players to have freedom to work with whom they choose.

“He worked really hard really starting last winter, worked really hard on his fundamentals, and (it) has made him a more accurate passer,” Ciarrocca said. “We started to see elements of that in the spring, but in training camp it was really clear.”

Ciarrocca, who on Wednesday was named a semifinalist for the Broyles Award, which goes to the nation’s top assistant coach, compared throwing a football to swinging a golf club.

“There are a lot of pieces and components that go into it, so the simpler you can keep your swing, the less chances you have of something getting out of whack,” Ciarrocca said. “It’s all sequential with it. He’s more compact, and he’s using his whole body; that’s the biggest difference.”

Williams said he has communicated with Gophers assistant athletic trainer Arno Rheinberger about coming to Minneapolis to discuss his work with the U staff. Williams, who works with athletes ranging from javelin throwers to hockey players, feels his work is applicable to all football players.

“Sounds to me like this is a very progressive coaching staff, which is really nice to hear,” Williams said. “I’ve run into walls in the past sometimes where it’s just, ‘We are already doing that,’ while the players say, ‘No, they are not.’ It just dies right there.”
...

Link to article: Gophers’ Tanner Morgan, Cowboys’ Dak Prescott early adopters of new throwing motion

 

One of his attributes that helps him overcome his lack of height is his extremely quick release. I can’t think of many occasions where he’s had a pass batted down, and that’s probably a big reason.
 

People talk about size or whatever but we've had plenty of big guy QBs....and Morgan drops in passes SO MUCH more accurately, fearlessly, and consistently than any QB I've seen wearing maroon and gold.
 

PitinoFan said:
One of his attributes that helps him overcome his lack of height is his extremely quick release. I can’t think of many occasions where he’s had a pass batted down, and that’s probably a big reason.
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Really? I seem to recall a fair amount getting batted down or tipped at the line.
 



btowngopher said:
Really? I seem to recall a fair amount getting batted down or tipped at the line.
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I don’t recall many, but maybe I just forgot? Maybe we should contact PFF! They probably know the exact number. They’re all going to have some number of batted balls. If he didn’t have such a quick release, I’m sure he’d have more.
 

PitinoFan said:
I don’t recall many, but maybe I just forgot? Maybe we should contact PFF! They probably know the exact number. They’re all going to have some number of batted balls. If he didn’t have such a quick release, I’m sure he’d have more.
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Yeah I don't know if it was a lot or how it compares to the average. I don't think it was an issue.
 

Tanner Morgan is going to shatter a whole bunch of records at the U before he is through playing especially if he decides to play his four years of eligibility. He is already one of the Gopher greats and he is not done playing yet.
 

I know this isn't going to go well with GH, but TM just isn't the end all with me. I give him a lot of credit for throwing the slant well and a few nice deep balls, but he has a long way to go in my opinion. I still look forward to seeing what Zack and others can do.
 
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HoustonTXGopher said:
I know this is going to go well with GH, but TM just isn't the end all with me. I give him a lot of credit for throwing the slant well and a few nice deep balls, but he has a long way to go in my opinion. I still look forward to seeing what Sack and others can do.
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Do you think the Gophers have had a better passing quarterback in the last 30 years? (I just say 30 because that's about as far back as I can accurately remember)
 

He does a lot of things that get overlooked. Watch this play again, and instead of focusing on TJ’s ridiculous catch, pay attention to Tanner, and where he puts that ball. In particular, watch it from the end zone view (2nd highlight). TJ was covered like a blanket on that route. In addition to that, Derrick Brown came fairly close to getting one of his big paws on the ball. If that had been thrown a little lower, to give TJ and easier catch, I’ll bet it would have been batted/tipped and perhaps intercepted. That was an NFL caliber play by Tanner, but because the catch was so good, most people probably assume it was an inaccurate throw. He threw TJ open and put it where only he could get to it.

 

PitinoFan said:
He does a lot of things that get overlooked. Watch this play again, and instead of focusing on TJ’s ridiculous catch, pay attention to Tanner, and where he puts that ball. In particular, watch it from the end zone view (2nd highlight). TJ was covered like a blanket on that route. In addition to that, Derrick Brown came fairly close to getting one of his big paws on the ball. If that had been thrown a little lower, to give TJ and easier catch, I’ll bet it would have been batted/tipped and perhaps intercepted. That was an NFL caliber play by Tanner, but because the catch was so good, most people probably assume it was an inaccurate throw. He threw TJ open and put it where only he could get to it.

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Watching that video I think that he could have thrown it a bit lower and still had the ball out of reach of the lineman, specifically referring to the 11 second mark. Regardless Tanner put many balls on the money this season, with the dime to CAB7 being my favorite.
 

noamfromm said:
Watching that video I think that he could have thrown it a bit lower and still had the ball out of reach of the lineman, specifically referring to the 11 second mark. Regardless Tanner put many balls on the money this season, with the dime to CAB7 being my favorite.
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Perhaps a few inches lower, but freeze that thing right after he gets rid of the ball, and notice how quickly Brown fights off his block, and moves over to get his hand up there. That’s why he’s going to be a top 10 draft pick. A lower throw would have been riskier, and he obviously knows TJ is capable of making catches like that. They probably practiced that every day.
 

HoustonTXGopher said:
I know this is going to go well with GH, but TM just isn't the end all with me. I give him a lot of credit for throwing the slant well and a few nice deep balls, but he has a long way to go in my opinion. I still look forward to seeing what Sack and others can do.
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Word said:
Do you think the Gophers have had a better passing quarterback in the last 30 years? (I just say 30 because that's about as far back as I can accurately remember)
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I think it's certainly fair to say that our Gophers haven't had a list of great QB's and there is no question that TM would be in the top three of any list you could come up with. Look, TM had 3 or 4 games this year that were off the charts. He is a nice QB with some great talent to throw too. I just want to see him keep improving. I still want to see what PJ was seeing in ZA the last couple of years.
 


HoustonTXGopher said:
I know this is going to go well with GH, but TM just isn't the end all with me. I give him a lot of credit for throwing the slant well and a few nice deep balls, but he has a long way to go in my opinion. I still look forward to seeing what Sack and others can do.
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You must have disagreed pretty strongly with Pro Football Focus when they ranked Morgan #2 in the Big Ten for returning players...

www.pff.com

Top returning players in every college football conference

PFF's Anthony Treash presents the best returning players in each and every college football conference.
www.pff.com www.pff.com
 

It goes back to what P.J. always says, "He has the intangibles".

I think the first three games of last season are a good indicator of that. In each of those games he lead the team on game winning drives. When is the last quarterback the Gophers have had that can do that? Let alone three weeks in a row. I truly believe that we would not have been able to win all three of those games if we didn't have Tanner at the helm. Even though the Fresno State game was probably more exciting, the Georgia Southern drive was the most impressive to me. His confidence skyrocketed from there and we see one of the best games ever by a collegiate quarterback the next week at Purdue. Can't wait for the upcoming season. Go Gophs!
 


Accuracy = A
Reads = B-C - Much improved as year went on. He started to look guys off receivers which is something he never did last year or at the beginning of this year. I also think he has a good hand on the RPO game, which is important with this offense.
Long Ball = A - can't believe how well he throws the ball. Amazing touch.
Arm Strength = B- - While he is accurate and throws a nice long ball, defenses don't need to play as much of the field compared to the robo arms of some quarterbacks.
Leadership = depend of definition - I know he leads by example - extremely hard worker who improves his game and he has great game management. However, does not strike me as a rally the troops with rah-rah speeches. I do think his leadership style is a perfect match for a PJ coached team.
Ability to Win = Whatever he lacks in any other area his ability to manage a game and get the win is amazing. He seems to have "it."

Bottom line he will always be the type of quarterback where some people will think someone who is more physically gifted (taller, stronger arm) and/or more vocal may be better than him. However, his results should speak for themselves!!
 

That TD pass to Johnson vs auburn by Morgan reminded me of a similar pass attempt against Iowa just before the half. Morgan threw just a touch too high (I think to Bateman) but he put the ball in the only place that our receiver could have made the catch while avoiding heavy defensive traffic in the end zone. Morgan sees stuff before others and typically puts the ball in places where receivers can make catch w YAC potential. He's not physically imposing, but he's got the gift, however you want to define it, and the team is ready to rock for him. I'll bet right now that he is has payback planned for iow a and Wisconsin this season.
 

The prez sez said:
That TD pass to Johnson vs auburn by Morgan reminded me of a similar pass attempt against Iowa just before the half. Morgan threw just a touch too high (I think to Bateman) but he put the ball in the only place that our receiver could have made the catch while avoiding heavy defensive traffic in the end zone. Morgan sees stuff before others and typically puts the ball in places where receivers can make catch w YAC potential. He's not physically imposing, but he's got the gift, however you want to define it, and the team is ready to rock for him. I'll bet right now that he is has payback planned for iow a and Wisconsin this season.
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There is absolutely a "put it in the only place it can be and let the guy make a play" factor you see in great QBs. The difference is often inches... and maybe half a second in time?

Arguably a QB's job isn't to "make that play" but to do what they do ... to give someone else the best chance to make that play. Tanner certainly knows how to find those best chances.
 

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