From Division III player to Oakland linebacker
Mikey Ward’s first impression of the freshman didn’t exactly portend an NFL future:
“He was pretty scrawny,” Ward said.
Undersized for a linebacker, sure, but fast. Ward, a senior at the position, quickly saw that, too. In the first quarter of his first college game, against Millikin University, Nicholas Morrow jumped in front of a 5-yard out route near the sideline for an interception — a “freak play” that Ward said few players at Greenville College would, or could, have made.
“This is us projecting back on memories, but I think a couple seniors were looking at each other like, ‘This guy’s special,’ ” Ward said by phone. “It’s probably at that time we were thinking, ‘He could be a special D-III player.’ ”
Morrow’s road from Division III athlete to Raiders linebacker will come close to full circle Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., about four hours from the campus in Greenville, Ill., where a year ago the undrafted rookie was playing before crowds of 100-plus.
Morrow was born in St. Louis but attended high school in Huntsville, Ala., where he played offensive line until his
senior year. A concussion that year left him with little film to show recruiters, and major college programs didn’t have much interest in a linebacker who was 5-foot-11 and 179 pounds.
Greenville was interested, though. And at the encouragement of his father, Morrow enrolled at the Christian school 45 miles from St. Louis, with a student body of about 1,200.
“When we started recruiting him — his dad loved it,” Greenville coach Robbie Schomaker said. “I don’t know if he loved it initially.”
Morrow said his first impression of Greenville was something like: “What the heck is this?” One football practice field was next to a cornfield, he said, and the stadium held about 500 fans but was rarely full. The facilities didn’t grow on Morrow — but the people he met did.
Those included Ward, who recalled Morrow’s “mind and ability.” Morrow studied biology at Greenville. But he branched out at one point, Ward said, by taking Greek.
“He was the top student in that class at our school,” Ward said.
Morrow also proved a quick study on the field, starting four years at Greenville and becoming the program’s first AFCA NCAA Division III All-American. Eventually Schomaker built a defense around Morrow, who played safety and linebacker.
“Because of his ability to guard slot (receivers) in manto-man coverage, play at deep safety and be physical and play over the tight end, he gave us a ton of flexibility,” Schomaker said. “He kind of let us play 10-on-10 because he could take away any of our opponents’ best players.”
Schomaker even added a wildcat goal-line formation with Morrow at quarterback in his senior season, until Morrow broke his thumb “so we had to stop doing it.” Schomaker recalled one game against Minnesota Morris in which Morrow had a touchdown, an interception and a fumble recovery to go with a dozen tackles.
“When scouts started coming on campus I had them look at that game,” Schomaker said.
The Raiders were among the first teams to scout Morrow, Schomaker said, and after Morrow went undrafted in April they signed him as a free agent. At 6-foot and 216 pounds, Morrow intrigued a team looking for players who could cover tight ends and running backs. He made the 53-man roster out of camp, becoming the first player from Greenville on an NFL roster.
“The one thing that’s always stood out about Nick is he’s fast,” Raiders assistant coach, defense John Pagano said this week. “He can run.”
Part of the linebacker rotation early in the season, Morrow’s playing time decreased for several games after the arrival of NaVorro Bowman. But Morrow has played more the past two weeks with weakside linebacker Cory James hurt, starting last weekend against the Giants and tying for the team lead with nine tackles.
Morrow was targeted in coverage eight times in Oakland’s 24-17 win, allowing seven catches for 59 yards. That included a 22-yard pass in the fourth quarter to tight end Evan Engram, who was oneon-one against Morrow and made a highlight-reel onehanded catch.
“I was on the ground and I knew he caught it,” Morrow said. “Then I look up and see how he caught it and I was like, ‘That is incredible’ … Only thing I could’ve done better was probably keep my head up and throw my hand up there. But he made a great play.”
Head coach Jack Del Rio agreed Morrow was “all over the guy, and (Engram) made an acrobatic catch.”
“He’s playing well for us,” Del Rio said of Morrow. “He’s a guy with a lot of speed. He’s really good with coverage on tight ends and backs.”
The Raiders face challenges at both positions Sunday in the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, who leads NFL tight ends in catches and receiving yards this season, and Kareem Hunt, who ranks fourth in the league in rushing yards. Kelce is an example of the kind of player Morrow rarely faced in college — an athletic receiver who is 6-5 and 260 pounds.
“The biggest thing is he’s really smooth,” Morrow said. “He’s a great route runner, he gets in and out of breaks and gets his body down. You just have to prepare, look at his routes, figure the kind of routes he likes to run and how he likes to get open.”
Morrow could draw another start Sunday with James (knee) doubtful. He would do so before a contingent of family and friends. Schomaker hopes to be there, as does Ward, who’s now a residence director and adjunct professor of theology at Greenville.
Lamar Bell, the assistant who recruited Morrow to Greenville, recalled Ward sacrificing his own playing time as a senior by helping develop the freshman Morrow. Said Ward: “I think Lamar’s being a little generous there — I didn’t really have a choice in the matter.”
“I was going to mentor as many guys as possible,” Ward said. “It just so happens I get to say the guy that took my spot my senior year is now playing in the NFL.”