In the summer of 2009, D.J. Morgan won the 110m high hurdles at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Italy in 13.28, the fifth fastest time ever for his under-17 age group. The Taft High School standout seemed predestined for the stardom of his choosing, track or football.
As a senior though, he tore up his knee leaving him steps behind with rehab hurdles to clear. Morgan's initial efforts were focused on the gridiron where he earned the starting spot for the first two games of 2011, but fumbled the gig to Marc Tyler and then Curtis McNeal.
Heading into his redshirt sophomore season, he has settled behind McNeal in the running back rotation with the hope that his explosiveness will continue to reemerge. To further that effort, Morgan took to the track this spring as a sprinter.
With growing confidence in his restructured knee, Morgan is back in his old event dashing over hurdles as they come. In just his second official competition, he placed fifth in the 110m high hurdles at the Pac-12 Championships, which qualifies him for the NCAA Regionals.
From his first event to his second, he shaved 0.27 seconds off his time. The return of his electric speed should mean more points for USC track and field and football.
(Photo by Kirby Lee)
As a senior though, he tore up his knee leaving him steps behind with rehab hurdles to clear. Morgan's initial efforts were focused on the gridiron where he earned the starting spot for the first two games of 2011, but fumbled the gig to Marc Tyler and then Curtis McNeal.Heading into his redshirt sophomore season, he has settled behind McNeal in the running back rotation with the hope that his explosiveness will continue to reemerge. To further that effort, Morgan took to the track this spring as a sprinter.
With growing confidence in his restructured knee, Morgan is back in his old event dashing over hurdles as they come. In just his second official competition, he placed fifth in the 110m high hurdles at the Pac-12 Championships, which qualifies him for the NCAA Regionals.
From his first event to his second, he shaved 0.27 seconds off his time. The return of his electric speed should mean more points for USC track and field and football.
(Photo by Kirby Lee)
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