In the fifth round of the draft on Saturday, the Bears finally drafted someone from their Senior Bowl team in guard Jordan Morgan from Kutztown, a Division II school in Pennsylvania.
Morgan, the 147th selection of the draft, was a decorated, four-year starter at left tackle for Kutztown. But a move to guard is likely in his future. It’s where Morgan, who is listed at 6-3 and 309 pounds, played for the Bears during the Senior Bowl.
“First day of the Senior Bowl, I just noticed it was a different atmosphere from what I was used to coming from a small D-II school,” Morgan said. “But I knew that I had to make the most of that opportunity because that was my big shot to show teams that I was ready to compete at a higher level.”
Morgan felt he connected with Bears offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn.
“[The Bears’ coaches were] really, humble, down-to-earth guys, and offered advice whenever they could,” said Morgan, who also took part in the NFL scouting combine. “The biggest thing for me that I noticed was just how approachable they were. If I had a question ranging from anything from like a play to just a certain technique or how they wanted me to block certain things, they were straight up with me and told me how they wanted to get it done, and they tried their best to convey that message to me. That was what I liked most about them.”
A finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award for the top lineman in Division II last year, Morgan stood out in college because of his athleticism. He was actually named the offensive athlete of the year in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
But he also has a unique backstory.
Morgan didn’t play football until his senior season in high school and only did because he needed to make requirements to graduate. He struggled at first and was injured. As result, Morgan missed the first half of his first football season. But Kutztown saw potential in him and offered him a walk-on opportunity.
When Morgan was a freshman at Kutztown, he said he realized that the NFL might be a possibility.
“I was able to move better than some guys and do things better, and these would be dudes that had been playing the game for 10, 15 years, and then there’s just me, who had literally only been playing for a year or two,” Morgan said. “For me it was always constantly trying to push myself to see how much better of a player I could become.”
Morgan was the third player selected by the Bears in the draft who played for a small school collegiately. He followed tight end Adam Shaheen (second round, No. 45, Ashland) and running back Tarik Cohen (fourth round, No. 119, North Carolina A&T).
