When you saw how well Panthers defensive tackle Morgan Fox played in 2020, you might have thought he was a decent draft pick. Maybe he went to a good Pac-12 or Big Ten school and went in the third or fourth round of the draft. It would be an easy assumption.
Nope. Not Morgan Fox. Dude had to earn everything.
The 26-year-old Colorado native attended high school in Fountain, just south of Colorado Springs, and later attended Colorado State University. But not the Rams in Division 1.
We’re talking Colorado State University - Puebla in the NCAA’s Division II, in the RMAC (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference).
Playing for the CSU - Puebla Thunder Wolves, Fox put up 17 sacks in his final year. He also registered 21.5 tackles for loss during that 2015 year. Over two seasons Fox sacked opposing quarterbacks 29 times.
He was never selected in the 2016 NFL Draft and signed on as a free agent with the Los Angeles Rams. Fox earned a spot on the practise roster and was promoted to the active roster two months into the 2016 regular season. He made it into five games that season.
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The following season in 2017 Fox made an appearance in all 16 games, where he notched 2.5 sacks. Unfortunately he missed all of 2018 after he tore his ACL in during organized team activities. That means he missed his chance at playing in Super Bowl LIII against the New England Patriots.
Fox came back in 2019 and added 2.0 sacks, then had a big year in 2020, grabbing 6.0 sacks and 27 tackles. It was in Los Angeles where Fox grew into an effective interior rusher.
Needless to say, after all the ups and downs in his career, this offseason’s free agency was exciting for the projected third-down pass rusher.
“Coming from a small school, and being undrafted, you appreciate what you got and what you were given, and it was cool to be in a position to have options, and a place that wants you because of the kind of player you are and the body of work you’ve put up,” Fox told Panthers.com. “It’s new now that the body of work is coming to fruition, and I have a chance to come to a place where they want me, that’s exciting.”
The Panthers “see him fitting into a version of the role Efe Obada played last year,” but given his career progression so far, they see Fox as a player “on the rise with the potential for more.”
On the interior, Fox will be able to work with former Auburn stud defensive tackle Derrick Brown. Former Baylor Bear and 2020 6th-round pick Bravvion Roy figures to add into the mix as well.
Both Brown and Roy were part of Carolina’s all-defensive draft of 2020, and Roy was one of head coach Matt Rhule’s guys in Waco, Texas.
But what did Fox tell Panthers.com about playing with a future hall-of-famer in Donald?
“He’s awesome,” Fox said of his former teammate. “He bleeds out his level of excellence, and guys around him just elevate their game. So being around a guy like him, you learn so much, you develop so much, and feed off him to be a better player.
“He’s always willing to talk to you, work through technique. There are definitely things you can take from him, but there are definitely things only he can do. I think that’s one of the best things you can learn as a young player, is that you can learn a lot of things, but there’s a lot of stuff that’s specific to 99.”
While Panthers fans may not be expecting the same career progression as Donald, it seems as though Rhule and Scott Fitterer plucked out a young, growing defensive lineman about to hit the prime of his career.
The Link LonkMarch 23, 2021 at 07:00PM
https://www.catscratchreader.com/2021/3/23/22345709/carolina-panthers-defensive-lineman-morgan-fox-took-the-hard-way-to-nfl-success
Panthers defensive lineman Morgan Fox took the hard route to NFL success - Cat Scratch Reader
https://news.google.com/search?q=hard&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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