For the Herald
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. ----- You may not know who Derrick Morgan is yet. Come Tuesday night’s Orange Bowl, you will.
Morgan is, simply put, the best player the Iowa Hawkeyes have faced this season. The 6-foot-4, 272-pound junior defensive end racked up 12 1/2 sacks and 18 tackles for a loss this year, good for sixth and 18th nationally. He’s a game-changer who forced two fumbles against Georgia, ended Clemson’s final drive with a fourth down stop in the ACC Championship game, and sacked Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner on third down to knock the Deacons out of field goal range and send the game to overtime.
His performance earned him ACC Defensive Player of the Year, first team All-ACC and first team All-American. And he did it all while facing double- and triple-team blocking, since Morgan sticks out like a sore thumb on a somewhat porous Tech defense.
“He’s a different animal than what I’ve seen so far. I’ve been able to watch him. He mostly plays on the right side but I’ll see him on the left side as well,” said Iowa left tackle Bryan Bulaga. “He’s a heck of a player. He’s fast. He’s big. He’s strong. He has great pass rush moves. He plays well against the run. Every part of his game is sharp and on point all of the time.”
Morgan’s name came up consistently at press conferences over the weekend, both from Iowa and Georgia Tech players and coaches. The junior is projected as a potential top five pick in the NFL draft, rating fifth in the Scouts Inc. ratings - 12 spots ahead of the next end listed - and in the top 10 of Mel Kiper’s big board.
Georgia Tech uses him all over the field, moving him from end to end and standing him up at linebacker at times. No matter where he is, opponents have no choice but to focus on him.
“I think he has one of the best techniques,” said Tech cornerback Mario Butler. “Every time I turn on the TV and watch other defensive ends, I think his technique stands out the most.”
His technique comes from the work Morgan puts in on pass rushing, but he’s far from a one-dimensional player. While his 12 1/2 sacks are indicative of his rushing prowess, his 18 tackles for a loss show that he can be just as successful against the run.
“He’s a great athlete,” said Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi, Morgan’s main target in the Orange Bowl. “Obviously, everyone knows how disruptive he can be in the passing game and in the run game. He’s someone we’ll have to be focused on throughout the ballgame and understand where he’s at.”
Iowa offensive coordinator Ken O’Keefe called Morgan a “one man wrecking crew.” Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Dave Wommack said his star has a “tremendous motor.” And just about everybody else involved in the Orange Bowl has called him some version of the same thing – very, very good.
Georgia Tech inside linebacker Brad Jefferson said that Morgan has been a different person since coming to Miami. Instead of being his usual funny, jokester self, Morgan has been calm and mostly quiet since arriving late last week.
That doesn’t bode particularly well for the Hawkeyes, who now have to deal with the even-more-focused Morgan. But that doesn’t mean they are going to devote their entire game plan to stopping him.
“I have to key him on a couple of things, but for the most part I’m not too worried about where he’s at because I won’t see him too much,” said Iowa center Raphael Eubanks. “But obviously as an offensive line as a whole we’re going to be cognizant of where he’s at. He’s going to be making plays, and we need to try to limit his production.”
“I don’t know that they present problems, but they are a really sound group of guys playing,” said Morgan. “They are probably one of the best groups we’ve seen all year.
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