Tanner Morgan spends extra time after practice throwing with assistant quarterbacks coach David Corley
Published July 30th, 3:45 EDT
by Bo Marchionte
Latrobe, PA – After practice there are pockets of players scattered around the three football fields that reside on the campus of St. Vincent College. Depending on the proximity of your location it’s to be difficult to identify exactly who is engaging in those extra reps.
The third field farthest from the stands at Chuck Noll Field is where you will find undrafted rookie quarterback Tanner Morgan throwing pass after pass to fellow teammate and undrafted rookie receiver Jordan Byrd. The director of the extra throwing session is conducted by Steelers assistant quarterbacks coach David Corley.
“DC (Corley) has really helped me out,” Morgan said. “Just go through the stuff and make sure I stay sharp. Coach Sulli (Mike Sullivan) and DC helped to put me into positions to succeed. Write stuff down and go through plays.”
Entering rookie minicamp, the buzz was Morgan handpicked to be the third quarterback behind Kenny Pickett and his backup Mitchell Trubisky. That theory was proved wrong five days after rookie minicamp (Marh 17th) when the Steelers inked their 2018 third round pick Mason Rudolph to one-year contract.
“Anyway, I can be an asset,” Morgan said of making the most of his situation of being fourth on the depth chart. “Learning the best I can and being a positive contributor anyway I can be is part of it. It’s a great room.
“Honored to be part of it. Guys who have played a lot of football in this league and guys who have coached a lot of football in this league. It’s pretty fun to be in that room and learn from their experience.”
The reason for training camp is to develop and compete. The signing of Rudolph doesn’t immediately eliminate Morgan from making the final roster, it just makes the job that much harder to obtain. The story I’m curious to see unfold is if Morgan can earn a job outright in Pittsburgh or is another city in the cards for the former Minnesota Golden Gophers signal-caller who went posted a record of 33-14 as a starter.
The reason for my optimism is Morgan is a gritty competitor and the Steelers have connected recently on some late round and undrafted quarterbacks that have either started or remain on NFL rosters. The examples are undrafted star in 2019 quarterback Delvin Hodges and 2022 seventh round pick Chris Oladokun who was cut by Pittsburgh and signed by the Kansas City Chiefs.
The predictability of the NFL saw Hodgers start six games for the Steelers who were ravaged with injuries. The disastrous outcome that would lead to Morgan starting six games in 2023 would leave Steelers Nation on the verge of a mental football breakdown.
While nearly impossible to happen again, no one could have predicted Hodges was under center for half a dozen games in 2019. A starter in 47 of the 51 games he competed in, Morgan is the school’s winningest quarterback and ranks second in both passing yards and touchdowns for the Golden Gophers. His collegiate numbers never revolved around gaudy statistics at Minnesota. Morgan providing “a point guard mentality” to the position his how he described it.
“I think first and foremost at the quarterback you have to be a guy people want to be around. Second is the mental aspect of the game. Getting the ball out on time to playmakers hands is kind of what I do. Escape and make plays when you have too.”
His opportunities to showcase all those characteristics should arrive on August 11th when the Steelers travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers in their first preseason game. The three-game tryout period in successful will serve as an audition for not only Pittsburgh but for the 31 other NFL teams who perhaps are fond of this Union, Kentucky native.
Buried on the depth chart those coveted reps aren’t something Morgan will receive a lot of at camp. It’s why working afterwards after practice concludes to fine tune his mechanics and remain fluid in the new system in Pittsburgh is essential in this expedited tryout for the NFL.
Despite being older than many other rookies, the 24-year-old Morgan found himself getting the rookie treatment on his first night in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He wasn’t studying his playbook or hanging out with linebacker Alex Highsmith playing NHL on a gaming system.
“I had to go get snacks for the quarterback room,” Morgan laughed. “So, I was doing that. It’s a snack order from the guys. A lot of seeds. A lot of Rice Crispy treats. Candies. Some Celsius. All kinds of stuff. Seeds and Rice Crispy was the emphasis.”
Morgan referred to himself as a “point guard” who got the ball out on time to the playmakers. Just so happens he ran the point on snacks and displayed the same role while distributing candies to the quarterback room.
His next task is to get back to running the point at quarterback in the NFL. Starter or backup. It’s all about the opportunity at this point – no pun intended.
