Morrissey, 19, on a path to coaching career

Even as he celebrated St. Joseph’s third consecutive state football title with his teammates that December day in 2019, the truth is Mike Morrissey always saw it as a fait accompli.

Let everyone else in Connecticut call the Class L championship against Daniel Hand one of the most anticipated matchups in recent state high school history. Morrissey had his own view of reality.

“We still joke about it now,” Morrissey said. “I never imagined it going a different away. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do if it did. From the beginning of the season, it just felt right.

“I even got in trouble in preseason. I mentioned in practice we were the best team in the state and I got yelled at pretty hard by (coach Joe Della Vecchia). He felt like we felt a little too good about ourselves. But we ended up doing what we had to do.”

The signature player on the signature unit in the state, Morrissey was a menace at Veterans Stadium in New Britain. The senior defensive lineman was in the Hand backfield all game, stopping the run, forcing quarterback Phoenix Billings into a secondquarter pick six.

Final: St. Joe’s 17, Hand 13. GameTimeCT named Morrissey player of the game.

Bottom line: St. Joe’s, 13-0, was the No. 1 team in the polls. First-team All-State, Morrissey was named New Haven Register State Player of the Year.

There are few certainties in life, and even fewer with football. Yes, Morrissey will be at the Central Connecticut-UConn game Saturday at Rentschler Field. A twogame series had been announced three years ago, so he had this one circled in his mind for some time.

To top it off Saturday will be his 20th birthday.

Only Mike Morrissey won’t be suiting up for Central Connecticut. He’ll be in the stands. At 19, he is retired as a football player and already embarked on what he hopes will be a career in coaching.

“It runs through my mind every day,” Morrissey said. “That game and everything that could have been. I’m very happy coaching, but I always think about, ‘What if I put the pads on one more time? One more time.’ ”

Until the conclusion of his senior season, Morrissey said he wasn’t involved much in the recruiting process. His focus was on finishing the job at St. Joe’s. He figured something would be there for him. That job ended with a Hogs’ defense allowing only six points per game and posting five shutouts. Individually, he’d have eight sacks and was tied for first in the state with 20 quarterback hurries. He had 80 tackles, including 17 for a loss.

Some Division II scholarship offers arrived. He was looking at a couple Division I schools. He was about to make a decision among NE-10 Assumption, St. Anselm and Southern Connecticut when Central defensive coordinator Ron DiGravio called and told him there was a spot for him.

“I went to visit the next day and decided it was perfect,” Morrissey said. “Close to home. So much family around. I had high hopes.”

There was no scholarship, but it was in-state tuition and he’d work hard toward a scholarship.

Morrissey also had shoulder problems since his junior year in high school. An aching problem that never really stopped aching. He toughed it out.

There was no season in 2020 because of COVID.

“But the shoulder got so bad, I couldn’t lift anymore,” Morrissey said. “It was popping out of place every time I raised my arm.”

It was a torn labrum. He talked to his coaches, they asked if he wanted to get surgery after the fall 2021 season. With four years of eligibility ahead, he’d figured he’d get it done as soon as possible in May 2021.

Morrissey healed. He put on good, strong weight to play college linebacker this past spring.

“Spring ball was going decent,” he said. “But I was playing a little different because I was favoring my shoulder. It still hurt. Just hitting subconsciously ways I shouldn’t. On a very routine play, I stuck my neck out a little too far.”

His neck snapped back. He injured his C-6 vertebrae in the lowest part of the neck.

“Messed up my C-6, which is probably the best description I can give you,” Morrissey said. “It’s a stretched nerve. A burning, numb sensation that doesn’t go away.”

The C-6 directly affects control of the forearm and wrists.

“Five months later, I still can’t feel my thumb,” Morrissey said.

It’s a stinger that didn’t go away. He said it is interrelated with the torn labrum.

“I asked if there could be surgery and there was nothing they could do,” Morrissey said. “It’s something that might come back. It might not.”

Five days after that routine spring play, he made the decision to hang ‘em up. He had been a fast, ferocious player on defense.

And now at 19, life hit him just as fast, just as ferociously.

“It was very difficult and it still is,” Morrissey said.

“It was a very weird feeling walking into my coach’s office when I knew I had to tell them this is the last time I’ll be a player.

“Even now, sometimes it feels like I made a mistake. I’d put the pads on right now. Even now I’m still trying to think of ways like maybe I go get my masters I can play D-III somewhere.”

Morrissey catches himself.

“I can’t,” he said.

There are days when he moves his head too fast and his arm goes numb.

“It’s not insanely debilitating but I just can’t play football,” Morrissey said. “I said it was tough talking to my coach, but coming to that decision myself is probably harder.”

This past summer, Morrissey worked as a home mover, furniture, lamps, etc.

“I know that sounds counterintuitive to all I just said,” Morrissey said. “I may have carried boxes funny, but I found a way to do it.”

He didn’t drop anything expensive.

“I still have my reflexes,” he said.

Morrissey decided to transfer to Southern Connecticut. He is a business management major on an education path. He wants to teach and coach and, at this point, it makes more sense to get his business degree and then get certified as a teacher.

He wants to coach. Badly. Della Vecchia, who also is Morrissey’s Uncle Joe, has given him a chance.

“After I told my coaches at Central, Coach Dell is one of the first people I called,” he said. “I told him I think I’m done. He told me it was a good decision to look after my health.

“I said, ‘I don’t want to put you on the spot, but can you use some help at St. Joe’s?’ He said absolutely.”

Morrissey coaches the defensive line along with Mark Keeney. He says Keeney and the rest of the staff have been great to him.

“They understand I’m new to this,” he said. “You don’t realize how scary coaching is until you get out there. I’m learning a lot, every step of it.”

Each day this semester, he commutes from the family home in Stratford to Southern. He’s done by 1 p.m., so he can make all football activities.

His twin brothers completed careers at St. Joe’s last season, so he missed them. Mark attends Roger Williams. Matt is at Rhode Island. Still, the senior class now were freshmen when he was there.

“It’s unique,” Morrissey said. “As a recent captain, someone who played with those kids, I feel I can relate to them on a personal level. I can help answer questions they have, simple day to day stuff.”

St. Joe’s opens with a widely anticipated game against Darien Sept. 10, but this Saturday, Morrissey will be at the Rent. He has lots of friends on Central. He counts three former St. Joe’s players on the Blue Devils and one on UConn. It will be a fun day. It also will be a wistful one.

“Knowing where I am right now, I’d do it all over again,” Morrissey said. “Play for play exact same way. I wouldn’t trade anything for that senior season at St. Joe’s. Not a single play.”