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October 2, 2008

New No. 1 Bulldogs can’t relax vs. Cards

By Rob Ludwig The Corsicana Daily Sun Thu Oct 02, 2008, 09:15 PM CDT

Whenever you’re having a bad day, don’t broach the subject with Navarro College guard Anthony Morgan.

He had a pretty awful couple of years before coming to the Corsicana campus last fall.

Morgan went from a homeless high school junior to a senior with 22 offers to play college football. His grades fell off during that troubled time, forcing him to turn to Navarro, but he’s regained his classroom dignity and honed his football skills. In January, he’ll be starting classes at Oklahoma State and preparing for spring ball with the Cowboys.

But there’s still a lot to do for the Bulldogs, starting with Saturday’s game vs. Trinity Valley on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Tiger Stadium. The Bulldogs (4-0) are ranked No. 1 in the nation and Trinity Valley enters the game 4-0 and ranked No. 12.

“We’ve got a lot of high expectations and we’re working hard to reach them,” said the sophomore from Lancaster. “We’re looking forward to getting conference started Saturday. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Fun was not part of Morgan’s lexicon during the latter part of his high school career. Morgan’s father had to move from Dallas to Austin for employment purposes, but Morgan stayed behind in familiar surroundings. So he stayed with a series of friends before settling down at one apartment where he stayed throughout his senior football season.

Morgan pushed his home life deep into his mind long enough to use his 6-4, 325-pound frame to waylay opponents for Lancaster.

The Division I offers came flooding in. Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Kansas, Texas A&M;, Kansas State, Baylor, Ole Miss, Colorado State and Houston all plopped down offers, through Morgan was still hoping for an offer from LSU, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Florida.

Baylor eventually was the winner for his initial letter of intent, though 18 months later, he’s ready for a lengthy stay in Stillwater.

“I committed early during my senior, but I really was just doing whatever others were telling me to do,” he said. “But when I realized I had to go to junior college, Navarro was a real good fit for me. OSU’s offensive line coach Joe Wickline has kept in touch with me all this time and I feel real comfortable with him.”

There is another Division I commit alongside him on the Navarro offensive line. Tackle Roy Watts and Morgan have anchored the right side for the last 14 games. They were instrumental in Navarro’s record-setting offensive explosion a year ago.

Watts and Morgan have formed a bond off the field as well, becoming roommates.

“Ever since two-a-days last year when we were running on the second team, we got together and got that first-team job back,” Morgan said. “Now we’re roommates and have come even closer together.

“The one thing a lot of people don’t know about Roy is how much a family man he is. He’s got a little boy and he’s such a good father. I’ve learned a lot about the value of family from Roy.”

His Corsicana family has the capability of being one of the best offensive lines in the nation. Morgan, Watts, center Elliott Howell and left tackle Zhamal Thomas are veterans up front to go with freshman left guard Jerrod Gooch.

“Just like Jamarcus (Webb) and Roy helped me last year, I’m trying to help the new guys with technique or recognizing defenses,” Morgan said. “There a lot more to playing offensive line than getting off the ball and trying to move the guy in front of you. You often have to slide down the line and pick up a block or get into pass protection the watch for the guys coming on a blitz. There’s a lot to remember.”

Morgan has applied his memory skills at Navarro. He beams with pride when discussing his classwork.

“I’ve worked harder that I ever have on my schoolwork,” Morgan said. “I never thought I could do this good in the classroom. I’ve worked hard during the summer, I’m on schedule to graduate in December, and I’m playing on a great football team. It’s all a guy like me, who was once homeless, could have asked for.”

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