Preseason Accolades Keep Coming for Tanner Morgan — This Time, Davey O’Brien is Calling

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University of Minnesota quarterback, Tanner Morgan, continues his meteoric rise to prominence in college football. The latest sign came today, when he was named to the Davey O’Brien watchlist for 2020. The Davey O’Brien Trophy is awarded to the nation’s best QB, at the end of each year.

Morgan, a junior, has is getting used to this hype. He was named one of 16 semifinalists, for the same award last year. We saw him flourish under P.J. Fleck’s coaching, in 2019. The Kentucky native was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team and set numerous single-season school records on his way there:

Passing Yards:3,253 YDS
Touchdown Passes: 30 TD
Completion Percentage:66.0%
Passing Yards Per Game:250.2 YDS
TD-INT Ratio:4.28
Pass Efficiency Rating:178.7

That isn’t the full list, either. Needless to say, the kid deserves this spot on the watchlist.

EXPECT AN ELITE 2020

With a 15-4 record as a starter, Tanner Morgan will look to lead the Gophers to their first New Year’s Six bowl game in almost 60 years. There’s an outside chance they even vie for a spot in the College Football Playoff, if they can take another step forward in the Big Ten West. After a 2019 Minnesota Gophers campaign that finished with an 11-2 record and beat #12 Auburn in the Outback Bowl, there is no reason it can’t be done.

Just start with the offense from 2019. It totaled 5,616 yards (3rd in school history), 3,293 passing yards (school record), 443 points (2nd most), and 34.1 points per game (3rd most)… and nearly everyone is returning, outside of Tyler Johnson.

Morgan looks to continue his climb up the U of M career record books. He currently ranks 9th in career passing yards (4,654), 5th in touchdowns (39), and 10th in completions (299).

If being named to the O’Brien watchlist wasn’t enough, Morgan is also slotted as a Heisman dark-horse and is even projected as a first-round NFL draft pick in 2021, by some. Throw in the return of superstar receiver, Rashod Bateman, workhorse back Mohammad Ibrahim plus a massive offensive line that returns 6 veterans…. and Morgan should have plenty of opportunity to build his stock up even higher.

While we are unsure what the season will exactly look like (thanks a lot COVID), I expect a MONSTER 2020 from Morgan and the Gophers.

Jack Kewitsch | Minnesota Sports Fan

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