On a mission

Newport junior looks to carry family tradition

By Eric Moore

LITTLE ROCK — Newport finished the regular season 10-0 last year, but a firstround loss in the playoffs kept Thamail Morgan away from matching his father by winning a state championship for the Greyhounds.

Morgan's father helped the Greyhounds bring home their last championship in 1991, a feat that Morgan would love to duplicate. As a sophomore last year, he did everything he could from his linebacker position. He recorded 145 tackles (including a school record 28 against Gosnell), and he is well on his way to eclipsing that mark this year.

He could break every school and state record there is, but without a championship, he will not be satisfied.

"I'd rather have a ring than a record," Morgan said. "As long as the Greyhounds win."

Off the field, Morgan is quiet and reserved, not the tackling machine you see on Friday nights. On the field, it's like a switch is flipped, head coach Greg Brannon said.

"He's a leader," Brannon said. "And not just a vocal one. He's one of those kids that was born with a knack."

Brannon has been a football coach for two decades, and he said that Morgan is the most talented linebacker he has ever coached. To emphasize the point, Morgan was named to the all-state team as a sophomore, something that has never happened for one of Brannon's players.

For Morgan, life is about more than football. He has a six-day-aweek job at the Village Creek Country Club so he can help his mother take care of himself and his six siblings. It is understandable that there is not a lot of free time left for recreation, so Morgan spends his time honing his football skills.

"You have to be willing to sacrifice yourself," Morgan said. "You have to be humble and ready for anything that comes your way."

During the summer, he took some time off from his hectic work schedule to attend somefootball camps that he believes will go a long way in helping him achieve his dream of playing college football.

In Brannon's office, letters from major Division I college programs are already starting to pour in to woo Morgan to come to their school.

"He gets more mail than I do," Brannon said jokingly.

As touted as he is as a recruit, Morgan is quick to shift the focus to his teammates, who he credits with any success he has on the field. Likewise, he is given credit for keeping the team on an even keel throughout the season.

Morgan is not the type of player who will come down on a teammate for a mistake; instead he reassures them that it was just one play and to "shake it off" because they will be needed on the next play. He expects no less from his teammates if he happens to make a mistake on the field.

"My teammates surround me and pick me up," Morgan said.

The energy that Morgan brings to the field is what he considers his best asset while he is wearing pads. But after this year and the next is over, he doesn't want to be remembered as a great player. He would rather be known as a great person.

"There were a lot of great athletes before me and there will be more after me," Morgan said.

Morgan and his teammates are on a mission this season. Namely, a conference championship is first on the agenda and a deeper run in the playoffs than they had last year.

"I'm more of a take-care-ofbusiness-then-pleasure kind of guy," Morgan said. "We can never lose our focus."

With Morgan anchoring the defense, as well as being a leader for the Greyhounds, Morgan as well as Brannon believe that their mission is obtainable.

- emoore@ arkansasonline.com

Three Rivers, Pages 126 on 10/12/2008