Ex-Mustang receiver David Morgan gets his shot at UTSA

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

SAN ANTONIO — Former Marble Falls High School receiver David Morgan is planning on doing for the University of Texas-San Antonio what he did for the Mustangs from 2008 to 2010.

Be the possession receiver.

Morgan, a junior, is the starting tight end for the Road Runners. The team opens the season at the University of Houston on Aug. 29 with a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Morgan bid his time at UTSA, waiting patiently behind other experienced tight ends. In addition, because of a fracture to his femur in 2012, he missed the entire season.

Last year, he sat behind senior Jeremiah Moeller, who is now a graduate assistant. Morgan said Moeller led by example, and he saw a teammate who equally emphasized catching the football and blocking with the offensive line.

“2013 was definitely a learning year,” he said. “We had a really good year from him. I got to see how he worked. It was a good learning process.”

The Roadrunners posted a 6-2 record in Conference USA and were 7-5 overall. They ended the season on a four-game winning streak thanks to victories against the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Tulsa; Tulane; North Texas and Louisiana Tech.

To prepare for the upcoming season, Morgan attended speed and agility workouts before 7 a.m. each day. After breakfast, he went to the weight room; then he went to class from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. In addition, he played in plenty of 7-on-7 games.

When Morgan was at Marble Falls, he was a possession receiver who was depended upon to make the impossible catches, find a way to move the chains and be equally committed to downfield blocking.

The tight end said he has no regrets about having to wait his turn. He believes it allowed him to learn his new position much better, get stronger and adjust to being a college student-athlete.

“Down in the trenches, it’s a different game,” he said. “As a receiver, I was blocking on the edge and in space against guys who weighed 160 to 180 pounds. And I weighed 225 pounds. Now I weigh 255, 260 pounds blocking guys weighing 270 to 315 pounds. It’s just a lot more fundamental work, a lot more sound technique to manhandle people.”

He said he lifts with the offensive linemen during weight-training sessions. Most linemen enjoy having tight ends work that closely with them.

“You work together when you’re down the line,” the former Mustang said. “You have to be so on point, and you have to be comfortable around each other.”

The son of Chris and Dave Morgan will graduate in December with a degree in management. He plans to return to UTSA next year to earn a master’s in marketing.

Morgan committed to UTSA during the 2010-2011 school year, which also was the first year of the Roadrunners’ program. Those players spent that year getting stronger and training for their first game that wasn’t played until fall 2011. The Roadrunners are 19-15 overall.

Some observers have already picked the Roadrunners to upset the University of Arizona at 7 p.m. Sept. 4.

“In the first couple of years, we were under the radar,” Morgan said. “We’re not a surprise to anyone anymore. We’ve made a name for ourselves.”

Morgan is not the only former Mustang starting for a Division I team on opening weekend. His former teammate, Cyril Lemon, is a senior offensive lineman at North Texas. The Mean Green will play the Texas Longhorns on Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.

“We set the bar really high,” he said. “We were under the radar in Marble Falls. They’re definitely carrying on the legacy.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com