Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – As a senior captain and the unquestioned leader of the West High offense Marcus Morgan knows his words carry weight.

When the three-year starting quarterback speaks, his teammates listen.

So as Morgan described a 4-5 season last fall that stopped a streak of 10 consecutive playoff appearances for West High he chose his words carefully – but didn’t hold back.

“There were a lot of growing pains and a lot of us not playing to our potential or expectations,” Morgan said. “It was kind of a letdown of a year to be honest.”

Letdowns are not something Morgan has been familiar with during an exceptional prep career.

Already a multi-year starter in four different sports, success has followed Morgan from season to season.

Over the past two years he has helped West High to the state baseball and basketball tournaments, won a medal at the state track meet and directed the Trojans to the 4A state football quarterfinals in 2018.

The 2019 football season was a rare disappointing moment for Morgan and an out of the ordinary down season for West High which finished below .500 for just the second time in nine seasons.

“It was definitely frustrating,” Morgan said. “You take that frustration and you can definitely see a sense of urgency with the guys this year. Having a bunch of guys that played a lot last year we know what it takes and we know what it doesn’t take from last year.”

The frustrating football season was the start of a challenging junior year for Morgan, who holds Division I scholarship offers in both football and baseball.

He missed parts of basketball season with an injury, saw spring sports cancelled due to the coronavirus and despite earning all-state honors as a pitcher this summer said he never got fully into a rhythm during a pandemic shortened baseball season.

“The year was strange but I don’t dwell on it,” Morgan said. “You have to move on to the next.”

As a four-sport athlete Morgan got the first real break of his career last spring when COVID-19 shutdown schools and organized sports activities.

West High head coach Garrett Hartwig believes the time away came at a good time for Morgan.

“It was a blessing in disguise for a kid like him that has never had two or three months all the way off,” Hartwig said. “He took advantage of it and physically it shows.”

Not surprisingly, Morgan kept active during his days in quarantine.

He found friends with weight racks in their basements and kept following Trojans’ offseason weight training program, eventually adding a noticeable 15 pounds to his 6-foot-3 frame.

“I’ve been putting work in while we were all sitting on our couches I was trying to get a little bigger, a little stronger and a little healthier,” Morgan said. “I’m feeling good.”
Last season stung for Morgan and the Trojans.

West High lost three games by a combined 11 points during an 0-4 start to the season before winning four of its final five but narrowly missing the postseason.

Already one of the most electric playmakers in the state at any position, a bigger and stronger Morgan believes he is ready to lead West High to a bounce back season.

“I feel like coming into this year after two years of playing I feel really knowledgeable,” Morgan said. “I am starting to see the game in different ways than I was before and I just know the offense in and out.”

A true dual threat quarterback, Morgan has accounted for more than 4,000 yards of total offense and 30 touchdowns in his first two varsity seasons.

Last season Morgan completed a career-best 61 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,723 yards and 11 touchdowns.

He also rushed for 143 yards and two scores last season and caught a touchdown pass.

“I think the thing about Marcus is he makes everybody better,” Hartwig said. “With Marcus you almost use him not so much to build around him but to exploit the strengths of everybody else.

Morgan will be the centerpiece as West High seeks another deep postseason run but the Trojans have plenty of pieces to go around their standout senior leader.

West High returns 17 players with starting experience including its leading receiver from last season in Grahm Goering, its top rusher in Tyuss Bell and its leading tackler in Ian McAreavey.

“We have 17 guys coming back that started at least two games last year so the experience that we were lacking last year is now with us this year,” Hartwig said. “We’ve seen guys play varsity minutes and we know what they are capable of. Marcus has the ability to do a lot of things so it’s almost taking his abilities to exploit everybody else to make them better.”

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