Gophers QB’s father reflects on growth into elite QB, family’s tight bond w/ Fleck

Few would be surprised to hear Tanner Morgan made a smart play when throwing a football to a different spot than where a play was intended to go – but it worked. The surprise comes in the fact he did it as a sixth-grader. It was the moment Ted Morgan realized his son just might have something most young football quarterbacks don’t.

As Tanner’s talent has grown, so too has the bond between Gopher football coach P.J. Fleck and the Morgan family. It’s a bond that further tightened as Ted dealt with an unexpected, serious medical situation in recent months.

Click the video box on this page to see KSTP Sports’ story featuring Ted Morgan reminiscing about his son’s ascent from talented pony leaguer to being one of the best quarterbacks currently playing college football – and how P.J. Fleck’s "Row The Boat" culture impacted the Morgan family away from the game they dearly love

The Morgan family was so enamored with Fleck, Tanner opted to follow Fleck to Minnesota when he took the job and departed Western Michigan. Morgan had initially committed to Fleck at Western, choosing to follow Fleck to Dinkytown without ever seeing the campus in person.

Projected initially to battle for a starting job, Morgan’s steady growth delivered one of the best seasons any Gopher quarterback has ever had. He broke nearly every passing record the program keeps leading the team to a massive breakout season in 2019.

Entering the 2020 season, Morgan is on several preseason award watch lists and is projected to be a potential NFL Draft pick once his Gophers career is complete.

Morgan and the Gophers open the 2020 season against Michigan on Saturday. You can see the game live in the Twin Cities market on 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS starting at 6:30 p.m.