Cresskill’s Jack Morgan proved himself as a track athlete this spring, even though it was his first foray into the sport.
“Jack has tremendous jumping ability,” coach Rich Miller, who is retiring after 50 years of coaching, said recently. “He’s a solid high jumper and he has real potential in the javelin.”
Then, Miller delivered a powerful qualifier:
“But he’s nowhere near [in track] what he’s capable of as a football player.”
As his senior year approaches, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Morgan is a burgeoning college recruit at wide receiver, also a position he played for the very first time last year.
The honor student has proven quick proficiency at any new sport or position.
He played baseball from the time he was 4 years old, competing through his sophomore year as the varsity third baseman, so moving to track was surprising.
“I love baseball, but I knew Coach Miller was a great coach,” Morgan explained. “I knew he was going to have a good team, so I figured I might as well try it.”
His throwing coach was football coach Kevin Quinn, who knows him well.
“Jack is an athletic and competitive kid,” said Quinn, who still ranks as the greatest javelin thrower in Cresskill history. “And track is a sport for a competitive guy. A lot of training time for track is in the weight room and on the track. That helped him for football, too. He gained about 15 pounds.”
Morgan wound up throwing the javelin in the mid-140s. He high-jumped 5 feet, 10 inches in competition, and cleared 6 feet in practice.
Football marked another transition for Morgan. His dad, Matt, was an outstanding quarterback at Cresskill and Jack was following in his footsteps.
“My father didn’t push me; he gave me the choice of the position I wanted to play,” the teen said.
The one hitch came when Quinn chose a senior over Morgan to start the 2017 season at quarterback.
“I didn’t take that [decision] hard,” Morgan recalled. “In fact, my father said it was a good opportunity for me. I just wanted to play and help the team any way I could.”
Quinn plugged him in at wide receiver.
“You want to put the ball in the better people’s hands,” he said. “Jack’s a dynamite young guy and very unselfish. He’s been a leader in our program for years and he’ll be a captain this year.”
It was a smooth transition as Morgan totaled 42 receptions for 746 yards and five touchdowns.
“Jack has excellent hands,” Quinn said, “and he’s an excellent route runner. He gets in and out of his cuts well. He’s still learning, but he was our top receiver last year and we expect he will be again this year.”
“It was a challenge at first,” Morgan recalled. “I had to work on my footwork and technique and I had to know the three receiver positions instead of just one. But I adapted and I’m glad I did.”
Morgan gets plenty of practice at home, too, as his father still has a strong arm and throws to him often.
Morgan’s concentration on offense took nothing away from his ability at free safety. He made 72 tackles and intercepted seven passes to earn all-conference and second-team All-Bergen County defensive honors.
Ivy League football teams have shown interest in the likely business major, who is tempted to also continue on in track if allowed. During the summer, Morgan attended football camps at Yale, Cornell and Penn.
“They were similar to the [NFL] Combine,” he explained. “They test your agility and speed in the 40 [4.7 seconds], and there were wide receiver/defensive back one-on-ones. I think I did all right.”
It was all in preparation for the coming season.
“Last year we had a lot of injuries, so a lot of sophomores played,” he said. “That should be a big benefit for us this year.”
One thing is certain: the wide receiver position is in excellent hands.
In his own words
Morgan on competing in track & field for the first time:
“Going into track, I was very excited. But I didn’t realize that so much of it was technique and form. I was a little intimidated because the people who were there before me were way better than I was. But the team had a great season and that’s what matters most in the long run.”
