Morrissey moves on
Reliable Pitt center Morrissey declares for ’21 NFL draft
Panthers’ stalwart center turns his focus toward the NFL draft.
After five years, 47 starts and an improbable journey to All-ACC status, Jimmy Morrissey is moving on.
Morrissey, Pitt’s three-year starting center and two-time captain, is the latest senior to declare for the 2021 NFL draft.
Unlike his teammates, Morrissey did not release a lengthy statement or graphic outlining his decision. He tweeted simply, “Thank you Pitt,” on Sunday evening with a photo of him and his teammates. Morrissey’s father, Jim, confirmed Monday to the Post-Gazette it was his son’s way of declaring for the NFL.
Morrissey is the seventh Panthers player to do so, forgoing his final year of eligibility as expected and choosing not to utilize the NCAA’s blanket waiver next season.
Defensive end Rashad Weaver and safety Damar Hamlin were the first seniors to make their intentions clear, opting not to play in Pitt’s regular-season finale at Georgia Tech. Defensive end Patrick Jones II and cornerback Jason Pinnock announced their decisions Friday, while guard Bryce Hargrove and wide receiver DJ Turner tweeted out theirs Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
More players could leave, too. Those seven departing Panthers were joined by quarterback Kenny Pickett, kicker Alex Kessman and linebacker Phil Campbell on senior day. Pickett, Kessman and Campbell might decide to come back; head coach Pat Narduzzi said a month ago that walking at senior day wouldn’t preclude them from doing so.
But if Pickett does return, he won’t have his stalwart center there with him.
Morrissey’s decision ends a heralded collegiate career that few expected, including himself at one point. This Philadelphia area native received zero Football Bowl Subdivision scholarship offers out of La Salle High School and opted to walk on at Pitt in 2016 — an opportunity that didn’t come up easily.
As a high school senior, Morrissey only wanted to visit Football Championship Subdivision programs that expressed interest in him. But at the insistence of his father, the unranked recruit camped at Temple, Boston College and Pitt. Morrissey’s experiences at Temple and Boston College didn’t go well. Neither did his email blast to all 128 FBS programs. Ohio corresponded for a bit, then stopped abruptly. A Miami, Fla., graduate assistant responded to Morrissey’s film. Then, head coach Al Golden was fired, and Morrissey heard nothing but radio silence.
The only FBS coach that held Morrissey in high regard was former Pitt offensive line coach John Peterson. Morrissey’s performance at a Pitt camp in June 2015 — one he wasn’t invited to but rather paid to play at — convinced Peterson the center was good enough for the FBS level. Seven months later, Morrissey accepted a spot at Pitt as a walk-on. And from the time Morrissey verbally committed Jan. 30, 2016, it took him 571 days to earn a scholarship.
”It motivated the hell out of me,” Morrissey said last year. “I couldn’t even get an offer from a school in my backyard like Villanova or Temple? No one was showing me love. I always thought that there has to be something wrong. I always knew I could do it.”
Morrissey proved that in the years to come.
After redshirting in 2016, Morrissey won Pitt’s starting job in 2017. He was a thirdteam All-ACC honoree in 2018, when Pitt boasted the secondbest rushing attack in the conference (227.93 yards per game). He was the ACC’s firstteam center last year, rating as Pitt’s top run blocker and refusing to allow a sack all season in the Panthers’ passhappy offense. He could retain those first-team honors, too, with the conference’s 2020 results being released next week.
Morrissey’s shoes likely will be filled by his longtime backup, Owen Drexel. The redshirt junior, who started at center against Boston College while Morrissey was forced to guard, will have two years of eligibility remaining if he chooses to take advantage of the blanket waiver. Drexel will have a tall task, not only replicating Morrissey’s play but also his leadership on the offensive line.
In many ways, Morrissey set the tone for the Panthers. He pushed the offensive line to watch film on their own time, spending nights at Pitt’s South Side facility. He fiercely defended Pickett on the field when necessary. And he took losses on the chin, often being the offense’s lone voice in postgame interviews after poor performances.
“He’s the one who builds everyone up,” left tackle Carter Warren said last month. “He tries to get everyone going when we’re feeling down. He has a good way of doing that. We always lean on him when we’re feeling some kind of way.”
“I’ve learned a lot from that guy,” Drexel added in October. “It’s one of the biggest things I can say about coming to Pitt is I’ve learned so much from him. He’s a great center and a great guy, most of all.”
Now, Morrissey should have a chance to show those qualities to an NFL team. Recently, ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Morrissey as his ninth-best center in the 2021 class. Meanwhile, Todd McShay and his team of Scouts Inc. analysts have Morrissey pegged as their No. 5 center in the class and No. 165 overall prospect.
Wherever Morrissey ends up and however he gets there — as a fifth-round pick or an undrafted free agent — he’s going to have an opportunity to prove himself. And considering how he got to this point, it’ll be hard to doubt him.