Sophomore defensive back Red Morgan was thrown into the fire as a true freshman last season. Due to a lack of veteran depth in the secondary, Morgan spent a lot of the season starting at the "Husky" position in Kane Wommack's defense.
Predictably, Morgan had his struggles as any freshman would. But he's a prime example as to why you don't give up on a talented young player. While Morgan was a backup depth option early in the season, he's spent this season getting better and better and has become a vital part of the Crimson Tide's secondary in the stretch run of the regular season.
With DaShawn Jones banged up, Morgan earned his first start of the season against Oklahoma. He played extremely well, as he has done now for weeks. If you've been watching every game, you're probably getting used to seeing No. 16 blow up a play on the perimeter. He's been physical in the screen game, smashing into the point-of-attack blockers and blowing them up game after game.
After weeks of flashing on tape, someone finally asked Wommack about his sophomore defensive back on Monday, and the Tide's defensive coordinator was excited to talk about the second-year breakout performer.
"He's a good football player," Wommack said. "He flashes, he’s bouncy, he’s very athletic, and he’s hard to get your hands on in space from a standpoint of he can kind of - all those field RPOs out there he’s kind of slippery and he’s also a really physical kid. He’s probably one of the best strikers I’ve seen from a tackling perspective. ... Red’s probably as good as I’ve seen at being able to strike. He’s getting more and more comfortable with his consistency and his execution.
"That’s a young man that we asked a whole hell of a lot of a year ago, to come in here and start as a true freshman, and it was because we didn’t have another answer. So we put a whole lot on his plate, and some things he handled really well, and some things he had to push through the adversity, but now he’s come out on the other side as a very good football player. Proud of his fight and excited to see what he’ll do on the back end of the season.”
Kane Wommack calls Red Morgan one of the best 'strikers' he's ever seen
It will be interesting to see what Wommack and company decide to do with a fully healthy DaShawn Jones moving forward. Jones has been solid, but it's going to be hard to take any snaps away from Morgan with the way he's been playing.
Yes, Morgan got called for a pass interference penalty against Oklahoma, but that was on a play that Wommack said Morgan was in "great position."
Morgan is going to be a major factor in the Crimson Tide's secondary down the stretch, regardless of what Wommack does with Jones. He's flashed too much during his playing time for that not to be the case.
He's earned the trust of the coaching staff, and he's brought an added nastiness to a defense that has morphed into one of the best in the entire country over the last month.