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Position: DE
Class: 2010 Big Board
Year: Junior
Hometown: Coatesville, PA
Date of Birth: 01.06.89
Height: 6030
Weight: 266
Vertical Jump: 36"
40 T: 4.72
Projection: 1st Round
Ordering: 13
Audio Interview -- Player Spotlight (10.08.09) -- LISTEN
Skinny: Morgan doesn’t really have much to think about. Barring injury, he’s a first-round pick. The Pennsylvania native has been unstoppable all year long. He currently ranks fifth in the nation with 11.5 sacks, but that only begins to tell the story of just how dominant Morgan has been through Georgia Tech’s first nine games. The defensive end has a non-stop motor that only knows one speed. Most blockers are helpless against his lethal first step and explosive leg drive, which allow him to shed blocks and gain penetration. Morgan is particularly effective on stunts where he takes his rush up the middle. His change-of-direction skills are second-to-none, as is his quickness off the ball. Even when opponents think they have him blocked, he’ll find a way of getting underneath his man and making a play on his knees if he has to. He eats up any sliver of space that’s afforded to him. The most underrated part of Morgan’s game is his ability to stand his ground against the run and wait for the ball carrier to enter his area.
01.11.10 - As previously reported by the NFL Draft Bible, Georgia Tech defensive end Derrick Morgan officially announced on Monday that he is leaving the Yellow Jackets after his junior season to declare for the NFL Draft.
12.02.09 - Morgan ranks first in the ACC and sixth nationally in sacks (12.5), and he ranks second in the ACC and is tied for 17th nationally in tackles for loss (17.0). Morgan is three sacks shy of breaking the Georgia Tech single-season sacks record of 15.0, held by Pat Swilling in 1985. His 12.5 sacks are the most by a Yellow Jacket since Greg Gathers had 13.0 in 2000. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney voted for Morgan as an All-American. “He's outstanding,” Swinney said. “He can play the run. He's excellent versus the pass. I thought he was their best player last year. I mean, he's just a really, really good football player that you'd better know where he is and you'd better have a plan for him. You've got to slide the protection to him, you've got to chip him with a tight end, you've got to play-action him, you've got to cut him with the back. I mean, there's different things that you have to do to try to keep him from just getting in a rhythm. If you just go in and you've just got one thought, he's going to have a big night on you. So you have to change up what you do from a protection standpoint.” – ESPN
11.13.09 - Georgia Tech DE Derrick Morgan’s three-sack effort in his team’s overtime win over Wake Forest last week added more fuel to the speculation that the junior may wind up entering the upcoming draft. When asked if this season is his last as Yellow Jacket, Morgan replied: “I don’t know. It’s a possibility at the end of the season. It will be determined by how I finish up.”
11.12.09 - Derrick Morgan soon could be chasing NFL quarterbacks. Morgan, Georgia Tech's junior defensive end who ranks among the nation's sack leaders, says he will "definitely" examine his NFL draft status after the season.