Tag: Jordan Morant

Jordan Morant, Ex-Wolverine

Rising junior safety Jordan Morant has entered the transfer portal. Morant played eight games in 2021 and made 1 tackle on special teams.

Morant committed to Michigan in the 2020 class out of Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic. At the time he was coming off of a stellar junior season where he made 60 tackles and 4 interceptions. He was an Under Armour All-American and seemed headed for stardom. Unfortunately, he suffered a lower body injury early in his senior year that was rumored at the time to be potentially career-ending and led him to redshirt as a freshman.

By the time Morant got on the field in 2021, he was behind in his development, having been passed up by classmates (R.J. Moten, Makari Paige) and at least one younger player (Rod Moore). He has a lot of physical talent at 6’0″ and 210 lbs., but competition is stiff for playing time at Michigan. It’s unfortunate for him – and for someone like defensive end Braiden McGregor – that injuries during their senior year have hampered their development here at the next level.

Michigan has plenty of safeties left on the depth chart, so this is not a huge factor for the program. It also frees up a scholarship for Michigan, as the Wolverines currently have 88 scholarship guys slotted to be on the roster in the fall and need a few guys to disappear before then.

Eight players from the 2020 class have entered the transfer portal, where Morant joins Andre Seldon (New Mexico State), Darion Green-Warren (Nevada), Cornell Wheeler (Kansas), Dan Villari (Syracuse), Osman Savage (Alabama A&M), William Mohan (Tennessee), and Aaron Lewis (Rutgers).

2021 Season Countdown: #56 Jordan Morant

Name: Jordan Morant
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 207 lbs.
High school: Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #31
Last year: I ranked Morant #100 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 87

Morant suffered a potential career-threatening injury in high school, which caused him to miss not only his senior year of high school, but also spring ball when he enrolled at Michigan in January 2020. That setback probably cost him his freshman year of college, too, meaning he lost time while classmates or slightly older guys were able to gain an edge.

Morant is well built and was a standout recruit. Another one brought in to player Viper, he will have to find a role at safety. If he or any other safeties can build the staff’s confidence, that may allow another safety to be inserted for Daxton Hill, who could potentially play a nickel role and cover more one-on-one. Morant is more physically ready to play than some of the other young safeties (Morant is almost the exact size as Baltimore Ravens starting strong safety Chuck Clark, who is 6’0″ and 208), but he hasn’t played much competitive football over the past two years. So what he does this year is a complete mystery.

Prediction: Backup safety, special teamer

2020 Season Countdown: #100 Jordan Morant

Name: Jordan Morant
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 212 lbs.
High school: Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic
Position: Safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Morant was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 12 tackles, 1 pass breakup, and 1 kickoff return for a touchdown.
TTB Rating: 87

Morant had the unfortunate luck of suffering a foot injury early in his senior season, leading to a truncated high school career. I’m sure it was disappointing for Morant and his teammates, but it also would have been fun to watch his senior highlights, because his junior year looked great. He was selected for the All-American Bowl and the Polynesian Bowl, but he couldn’t participate in either. He finished as the #10 safety and #165 overall player. His high school head coach was Vito Campanile, the brother of former Michigan linebackers coach Anthony Campanile (now with the Dolphins).

Don’t let the ranking fool you into thinking I like Morant any less. I am concerned about his recovery from the injury (there were rumors floating around that this was on the verge of being a career-threatening injury), and missing most of his senior season could diminish his ability to be ready as a freshman. If the spring and spring football had been allowed to play out, I might have moved him up the list since he was an early enrollee, but missing (most of) his senior year and then spring ball puts him a little behind where he should be in order to play this year. I’m expecting him to redshirt, but I admit I could be way off if his recovery has gone well.

Prediction: Redshirt

Hit the jump for Morant’s short senior highlight clip.

How does the 2020 class match up with Michigan’s all-time recruits?

Michigan wrapped up a decent recruiting class earlier in February. There are no 5-star recruits, but the Wolverines got a fair share of 4-star guys. For a historical perspective on where they match up with recruits from the past, here’s a look at where they slot in all-time, according to the 247 Composite.

A.J. Henning – WR – Frankfort (IL) Lincoln-Way East
2020 ranking: #101
Historical ranking: #80 all-time at Michigan
Flanked by: RB Kareem Walker (#100 in 2016) and DT Will Johnson (#105 in 2004)
Closest positional comparisons: Toney Clemons (#96 in 2007) and Adrian Arrington (#115 in 2004)

Braiden McGregor – DE – Port Huron (MI) Northern
2020 ranking: #122
Historical ranking: #103
Tied with: WR Tarik Black (#122 in 2017)
Closest positional comparisons: Aidan Hutchinson (#112 in 2018) and Chris Wormley (#129 in 2012)

Hit the jump for more.

2020 Polynesian Bowl Preview

The 2020 Polynesian Bowl is taking place on Saturday, January 18, 2020, at 7:05 HST . . . which means it will be starting after midnight on the 19th if you’re on the East Coast.

Here’s a list of players Michigan pursued who are on the roster:

• RB Sam Adams II (Washington)
• OL Reece Atteberry (Michigan)
• OL Tosh Baker (Notre Dame)
• TE Kevin Bauman (Notre Dame)
• RB Jalen Berger (Wisconsin)
• WR LV Bunkley-Shelton (Arizona State)
• OL Michael Carmody (Notre Dame)
• DE Van Fillinger (Utah)
• LB Justin Flowe (Oregon)
• OL Andrew Gentry (Virginia)
• OL Geirean Hatchett (Washington)
• WR A.J. Henning (Michigan)
• CB Luke Hill (Oregon)
• WR Rakim Jarrett (Maryland)
• DT Aidan Keanaaina (Notre Dame)
• QB Sol-Jay Maiava (BYU)
• CB Dontae Manning (Oregon)
• CB Dwight McGlothern (LSU)
• DE Braiden McGregor (Michigan)*
• QB Parker McQuarrie (UCLA)
• S Jordan Morant (Michigan)
• LB Kalel Mullings (Michigan)
• OL Myles Murao (Washington)
• TE Mark Redman (Washington)
• RB Bijan Robinson (Texas)
• OL Roger Rosengarten (Washington)
• TE Joe Royer (Ohio State)
• LB Noah Sewell (Oregon)
• LS Gregory Tarr (Michigan)
• RB Lawrance Toafili (Florida State)
• RB Chris Tyree (Notre Dame)
• QB D.J. Uiagalelei (Clemson)
• WR Roman Wilson (Michigan)

*Not participating due to injury

The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

Here’s a list of Polynesian Bowl participants since it began (LINK).