SOUTH BEND — Nyles Morgan could have sulked.
After starting four of Notre Dame’s final games of his freshman season, the Crete-Monee graduate returned to a reserve role as a sophomore in 2015.
Instead of complaining, the linebacker took a patient approach.
“At some point in time, my time was coming,” Morgan said. “As long as I kept working as hard as I did, my time had to come eventually.”
That time is now.
Morgan is in line to be a full-time starting linebacker for the Irish this fall.
“Nyles Morgan is a tough, physical football player,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “What we asked him to do is to be himself. You’re not Joe Schmidt, but he’s doing a great job getting us lined up. Now that you’ve got that and that’s not an issue, be who you are. And he’s a physical, tough player.”
Morgan provided a glimpse of that as a freshman. He made four starts, replacing an injured Schmidt late in the season. Morgan made the most of the opportunity, finishing with 47 tackles on the way to earning Freshman All-American honors.
And then came the waiting.
Morgan appeared in 13 games as a backup and on special teams when Schmidt returned in 2015. Morgan made 17 tackles.
“Obviously that’s tough because I’m a natural-born competitor,” Morgan said. “I understand it was for the right reasons. I never once had anything bad to say about it. I took it with a grain of salt and from there kept getting better. Whatever I did, I made sure my game kept getting better. I kept learning. I kept asking questions and kept developing.”
The coaches have noticed the growth.
“He’s got confidence now,” Notre Dame linebackers coach Mike Elston said. “It’s different when you’re behind somebody and you’re trying to live up to that standard. Now you’re out there setting the standard. He’s the first dog running out there. He’s playing with an aggressive nature and communicating really well.”
Morgan said he’s added about 20 pounds since his playing stint as a freshman, checking in at a weight of 245. That’s not all that’s changed since the last time he was a regular.
“I feel like my knowledge of the game has grown so much,” he said. “There is so much that I know now that I wish I knew then. With that and adding my technique, I feel like I’m way better now than I was younger.”
He’s ready to get the opportunity to put it all on display on a regular basis.
“It’s like having the keys to the kingdom,” Morgan said. “If it’s yours, it’s yours. You can own it. Take hold of it. And then from there, it’s just keep climbing.”
Note: The season opener at Texas has been moved to Sunday, Sept. 4. The game, originally slated for Sept. 3, will take place at night. Time and television details will come at a later date.
Twitter @lamondpope
