Next up on our 2023 Hello backlog is WR Semaj Morgan, an in-stater with ties to the university that Michigan was able to nail down very quickly. Let's take a look at what Morgan offers the Wolverines: 

GURU RATINGS 

Last row is Seth's conversion to a five-star scale. Links are to profiles 

Unlike yesterday's Raylen Wilson, who is an elite elite prospect, meaning he's already ranked by all the sites, Morgan is not that caliber and thus ESPN and On3 haven't yet gotten to ranking him, as this is still very early in the 2023 cycle. For what it's worth, the sites that have seen Morgan like him a fair bit and his rankings from 24/7 and Rivals are quite solid. General agreement on Morgan's height and weight across the board, a smaller, slimmer receiver who, from the build, would seem to be a slot. Let's see if the tape agrees. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Pick which Gattis slot you want to compare him to!] 

SCOUTING

We're a bit more limited with Morgan than we were with Wilson in terms of scouting, but Rivals has a nice detailed piece about him from when he committed at the start of December. As an overview: 

(Morgan) is a special athlete that is capable of playing multiple positions at the next level, but Michigan will have him playing slot receiver, and contributing on special teams to start. Morgan's greatest attribute is his ability to make big plays. He can stretch the field, has great body control enabling him to adjust to any ball, and can take the short throw the distance.

That sounds decently promising. Let's hear what 24/7 has to say. Allen Trieu, what say you? ($): 

Morgan is a very sudden player, quick and elusive in a short area. That shows up as a return man and a receiver after the catch. He has excellent ball skills. One-handed catches and tough grabs away from his body are routine. In general, he is a dynamic playmaker.

Mostly in agreement with Rivals there, but Trieu's writeup is a tad more useful because it throws out some comps, and predictably, Gattis slots are mentioned there. There seems to be some degree of question about how fast Morgan actually is. He looks fast on the football field, but there is an absence of verified times, something that, if rectified, could shoot him up the rankings: 

The only verified speed times on him as track times from spring of 2021, if he can go out this season and improve those marks or time well at events, that should bring additional movement up the rankings.

Meanwhile, returning to Rivals, strength is an area of improvement for the rather wiry wide receiver: 

Once he gets into a college weight-room, and fully develops, Morgan has a chance to be a force at the next level

Again, you're talking about a player who just finished junior year and weighs 175-180. This is not yet a finished product whatsoever. 

We do have some scouting from On3's EJ Holland, even though that website has yet to rank Morgan. Holland saw Morgan at the Ford Field showcase around Christmas and compared Morgan to one Gattis slot ($): 

Henning was more of a running back turned wide receiver. Morgan, while built like a running back, is a better route runner at this stage in his recruitment and more of a natural pass catcher. Still, he can line up in the backfield and make plays on jet sweeps/end arounds. Morgan is quick, has great acceleration and is getting faster straight-line — he’s spending a lot of time focusing on track this offseason.

If you're wondering about the inconsistency between the Rivals write-up calling Morgan a big play guy, and the Henning comparison as more of an end-around type guy, there isn't any inconsistency. EJ says Morgan can do both: 

Morgan is extremely dangerous on slants on drags out of the slot, but he can also take the top off a defense and stretch the field vertically. 

What you've got here is something that sounds like a Henning/Sainristil hybrid. Intriguing. 

OFFERS

Mostly received regional offers. A number of MAC teams (CMU/EMU included) + Michigan, Missouri, Ole Miss, WVU, MSU, Purdue, Syracuse, and Washington State out of the P5. Did not take any visits and zeroed in on Michigan pretty quickly, largely because of the ties to the university and program. 

HIGH SCHOOL 

Speaking of those ties, Morgan plays at none other than West Bloomfield HS. You may recall that program for producing Michigan safeties coach Ron Bellamy, who turned the program into a HS powerhouse. It also produced Donovan Edwards, who, according to EJ Holland, is very close with Morgan (as is Bellamy, his former coach). This was West Bloomfield's first season without Bellamy at the helm, going 10-3 but losing to Adams (Rochester) in the playoffs. 

STATS

This past season Morgan caught 61 passes for 1,015 yards and 13 TDs. He also returned ten kicks for 291 total yards and a touchdown.  

FAKE 40 TIME

As we noted in the scouting section, there are no independently verified 40 times on Morgan. He lists just a plain "4.5" on his Hudl page but given that there is no way to verify that, it is highly likely to be a FAKE.  

VIDEO 

Here are his junior year highlights: 

Here's some rather brief footage of Morgan at the Ford Field event that Holland attended: 

ETC 

Has the West Bloomfield/Bellamy connection. Works out with Curtis Blackwell and Sound Mind Sound Body. Seems to have a focus on academics, listing a 3.5 Core GPA on his Hudl page alongside the quote "I understand that a solid GPA will open more doors for me as an athlete". Has his own semi-professional website. Per Holland, Morgan is completely locked in to Michigan and is going to work to recruit his fellow 2023ers to Ann Arbor. Looks like he was the passer when West Bloomfield ran The Donovan Edwards To Roman Wilson Play against Clarkston this season. 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

Morgan is a very solid building block to begin a recruiting class in my mind. He's got a lot of the attributes you want, a decently safe prospect from a known HS, has connections to the program, and seems to be a smart kid in the classroom. On the field, he's got the agility to get separation and get yards after contact, with a lot of different ways you can use him. May take some time to make an impact if they need to beef him up, or if he needs to make improvements to his route running (as Touch the Banner suggests), but there feels like a pretty safe floor here. I don't watch his tape and think he's a home run prospect, but he's a very safe "take" and after a couple years on campus, Morgan should be a solid contributor as either a more standard WR (think Jeremy Gallon), or in the Henning role on the offense. 

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE 2023 CLASS 

Morgan is the lone offensive player in the class so far, which is a long way of saying it's very early. Morgan is a nice add as a first piece given the way he wants to play an active role in the recruitment of other 2023 kids, and he should be especially useful with in-staters... like say, 5* Detroit QB Dante Moore (or West Bloomfield teammate, 4* OG Amir Herring). Michigan ended up reeling in a very nice WR class in 2022 on signing day, with two higher end gets in Tyler Morris and Darrius Clemons, in addition to an intriguing developmental piece in Amorion Walker, so they don't need to take a huge 2023 WR class. Morgan starts giving you a floor, and now you can chase a legit blue chip to go with him.