Sunday, January 8, 2012

WR Donovan Morgan

The first player I'm highlighting from the 2011 roster is no other than Donovan Morgan who was by far the Soul's best player last season. Morgan played in 16 of the Soul's 18 games last season while putting up monster numbers for his efforts. Morgan had 121 receptions for 1,959 yards (a Soul franchise record and 4th best in the AFL) and 37 touchdowns (6th best) while also ranking 1st in yards per catch (16.2) and 2nd in receiving yards per game (122.4).

The Second Team All-Arena wide receiver was to be placed on the Other League Exempt List during week 19 of the season when Morgan decided to leave the Soul for the UFL's Virginia Destroyers, but he decided against it and came back just days after announcing his departure. The Soul had a Bye that week so Morgan was back in time to play the season finale (a 61-48 loss) against the Pittsburgh Power in Philadelphia.

Coming out of Louisiana-Lafayette, Morgan signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2004. Morgan's only NFL game experience came in 2005 with the Houston Texans where he caught 4 passes for 42 yards in only 3 games. Morgan signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2006 before signing with the Buffalo Bills in 2007, but he was released before the end of the preseason.

Morgan played for the AF2's Tulsa Talons in 2005 where he was named the Rookie of the Year after recording multiple AF2 records. Morgan produced 57 total touchdowns (54 receiving) and recorded 346 points in a single season, all three were good enough for AF2 records.

In 2008 Morgan returned to arena football but this time in the AFL for the Chicago Rush. He caught 111 passes for 1,281 yards and 24 touchdowns and was thus named the AFL's Rookie of the Year becoming the first player to win two Rookie of the Year awards in arena football (2005 with Tulsa and 2008 with Chicago).

With the AFL shut down for the 2009 season Morgan played for the Chicago Slaughter of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL). There he was integral to the Slaughter as the won the 2009 CIFL Championship Game over the Fort Wayne Freedom 58-48. Morgan was named the game's MVP in the Slaughters last game with the CIFL (they moved to the IFL in 2010). Morgan played with 6 other fellow Chicago Rush players who signed with the Slaughter after the AFL closed it doors for 2009. Russ Michna the QB of the Slaughter in 2009 won the CIFL's MVP award for his efforts; he's currently a free agent after being the signal caller for the Chicago Rush for the past two seasons.

Morgan returned to the AFL in 2010 with the Tulsa Talons for his second stint with the team. He ended the season with 123 receptions for 1,707 yards and 52 touchdowns (which led the league). Morgan was named First Team All-Arena after his stellar return to the AFL which led him to sign with the Soul in 2011 as one of their premier pick-ups for the 2011 season.

With Morgan now officially back with the Soul, Morgan looks to become a mainstay with the team unless the NFL comes knocking one day for which no one would blame him for leaving. "The Philadelphia Soul have been too good to me, so I just had to stay  around and make this my home," said Morgan after announcing he wouldn't pursue an opportunity with the UFL in mid July. Morgan's a fan favorite and rightfully so; he represents how the ideal AFL player should act. Morgan plays hard and remains humble despite his success indoors, but he shares that dream of one day becoming an NFL starter which makes him that much more fun to watch. Even at the age of 29 Morgan can still play his position with the best of them and he'll hopefully continue his success in 2012 while playing besides top free agent acquisition WR Anthony Jones. The sky's the limit when it comes to how big of numbers Morgan can put up this season and I for one cannot wait to see the result.                                                                                                                                                            

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