University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Marshall Morgan
August 17, 2020 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Marshall Morgan isn't a kicker anymore, but the former Georgia football standout from 2012-15 discovered recently that he's still got a good leg. While working with some middle school kickers, Morgan put one through the uprights from 55 yards out.
Now a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch in Athens, the 26-year-old Morgan got into the money management business in 2016, after a short stint in the NFL. The former All-SEC kicker remains fourth on the SEC's all-time scoring list with 407 career points (former Bulldogs Blair Walsh and Billy Bennett rank second and third, respectively), and he's first in career PATs with 215.
Morgan is perhaps most remembered for his collision on a kickoff against Southern University in 2015, which resulted in a devastating spinal injury for Southern's Devon Gales. The two men have been connected ever since, with Gales becoming a member of the UGA family as he went through years of rehabilitation at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. Gales attended Morgan's wedding three years ago and the Gales family recently paid a visit to Morgan, his wife Madison and their son Maddox. Gales is now working as an assistant football coach at Jefferson High School in Jefferson, Ga.
During a recent Quick Chat, Morgan talked about life after football, his relationship with Gales, getting into woodworking and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: I'll ask you what I'm asking everybody, what have the last four or five months been like for you?
Morgan: I guess it's been nice in a way, I've been able to spend a lot of time with the family. We have a 16-month-old son named Maddox, and it's been nice to be able to really spend time with him. Every day or week, he's learning something new or saying something different.
Frierson: Is Maddox a family name or were you just into the alliteration?
Morgan: Honestly, we did kind of like the 'M' thing because my wife is Madison Morgan, I'm Marshall Morgan and so we had three names picked out and Maddox was one of them. I was like, you know, we might as well keep it going.
Frierson: What is it like being in the financial advising business during a pandemic, when nobody really seems to know what's going on from one day to the next?
Morgan: The name of the game is long-term planning and a lot of people, even people who have never invested, are trying to get into the market now and trying to time up these risky stocks. Really, though, the name of the game is long-term and that's what we're all about, long-term, goals-based wealth management.
As long as we can keep our clients focused on their goals and not as much on the markets, then that's where they can relieve a lot of stress and anxiety.
Frierson: How many hours a day are you on the phone talking to clients?
Morgan: I'd say I'm on the phone probably six hours a day.
Frierson: That's a long way from being a football player.
Morgan: It's definitely different but I really enjoy it. It's challenging and that's why they typically recruit athletes, because of our work ethic and our mentality. If someone tells us no, it's not going to make or break us, we can talk to the next prospect. It's kind of like kicking a field goal: if you miss your first kick in the game, you're not going to go out there and miss all the rest. I hope not, anyway.
Frierson: Speaking of, when was the last time you kicked a football?
Morgan: It's funny you ask, I actually hadn't kicked in a while and we recently moved to Watkinsville, and my neighbors, their son is going to be the punter at Oconee Middle School, and they reached out to me and asked if I would work with him. I said, yeah, no problem.
I went out and I helped the punter and the kicker there, and I hit a few myself. I was able to knock down a 55-yarder. I was like, I'm a dad now, let's see if I still got it — and I had it.
I haven't stopped training, really. Some people get what they call a "dad bod" and I'm trying to keep it more of a "father figure," so to say.
Frierson: Do you miss the routines of football or are you glad to now have all that in the rearview mirror?
Morgan: It's a little bit of both. I miss the camaraderie of the team and just everything that goes along with it, and of course game day between the hedges. I really don't miss my entire schedule from 7 in the morning to 7 or 8 p.m. being just football. I love the flexibility now. I can go on vacation, I can go hunting during hunting season. Before it was one weekend, I think it was the one weekend before Georgia-Florida, that was the one weekend when we were able to go hunting in south Georgia.
Frierson: What did you, as a great Georgia kicker yourself, make of the way that Rodrigo Blankenship became one of the most popular players that we've ever seen around here?
Morgan: I think he deserved every bit of it. He's a really cool and unique guy and I'm glad the Bulldog Nation saw that. I actually had him over for dinner maybe a month ago right before he left for Indy (Blankenship signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent) and got to catch up with him. He's just an awesome guy.
I overlapped with him for a full year, when he was redshirting, and got to watch him grow and get his confidence. He's so talented and everybody saw that, obviously. And I'm sure he's told you, he could be a professional rapper, too. He's pretty dang good at spittin' some rhymes.
Frierson: If you could be great at anything for a day, just to experience it, what would it be?
Morgan: I would say an airplane pilot, like a Blue Angel.
Frierson: Have you ever thought about taking flying lessons?
Morgan: I have, actually. I haven't made any progress with it but it's definitely been on my mind. Between that and possibly skydiving, those are things I'd like to try. My brother was in the 82nd Airborne and he jumped out of airplanes, and I've always wanted to try it just to see what it's like. It'd be cool to fly, too.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there anything creative you do or wish you could do?
Morgan: I do woodwork — when we moved into our first house in Athens, we quickly realized how expensive it is to furnish a whole home out of college. I started buying tools slowly but surely for each project and now I have a whole woodwork shop. I just do it for stuff that we need around the house; right now I'm working on a built-in office unit for my wife. I just do some cool woodwork stuff, some cornhole boards, a porch swing, stuff like that. I really enjoy it.
Frierson: Is it fair to say that making all those things scratches an itch that some much of the rest of your life doesn't?
Morgan: Yeah, I just like the numbers and making stuff work and fitting stuff together. I was a big Lego guy growing up.
Frierson: You and Devon are obviously linked because of what happened, and I saw where he was at your wedding a few years ago. What is your relationship with him like now?
Morgan: It's funny you ask, we actually just had him and his family over for dinner this past weekend, just to reconnect and have them over to our new house. We just wanted to show them around and his dad, Donny, is a big hunter and I wanted to show him the back porch that overlooks all these woods where there's deer.
It was just nice to have them over and catch up and talk to him about the upcoming season. It looks like they're going to be able to play, but we'll see. He's still coaching at Jefferson and his younger brother is actually going to play on the team. It's pretty cool that his younger brother is going to be on the team and is going to have to call him "Coach Devon."
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
Marshall Morgan isn't a kicker anymore, but the former Georgia football standout from 2012-15 discovered recently that he's still got a good leg. While working with some middle school kickers, Morgan put one through the uprights from 55 yards out.
Now a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch in Athens, the 26-year-old Morgan got into the money management business in 2016, after a short stint in the NFL. The former All-SEC kicker remains fourth on the SEC's all-time scoring list with 407 career points (former Bulldogs Blair Walsh and Billy Bennett rank second and third, respectively), and he's first in career PATs with 215.
Morgan is perhaps most remembered for his collision on a kickoff against Southern University in 2015, which resulted in a devastating spinal injury for Southern's Devon Gales. The two men have been connected ever since, with Gales becoming a member of the UGA family as he went through years of rehabilitation at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. Gales attended Morgan's wedding three years ago and the Gales family recently paid a visit to Morgan, his wife Madison and their son Maddox. Gales is now working as an assistant football coach at Jefferson High School in Jefferson, Ga.
During a recent Quick Chat, Morgan talked about life after football, his relationship with Gales, getting into woodworking and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: I'll ask you what I'm asking everybody, what have the last four or five months been like for you?
Morgan: I guess it's been nice in a way, I've been able to spend a lot of time with the family. We have a 16-month-old son named Maddox, and it's been nice to be able to really spend time with him. Every day or week, he's learning something new or saying something different.
Frierson: Is Maddox a family name or were you just into the alliteration?
Morgan: Honestly, we did kind of like the 'M' thing because my wife is Madison Morgan, I'm Marshall Morgan and so we had three names picked out and Maddox was one of them. I was like, you know, we might as well keep it going.
Frierson: What is it like being in the financial advising business during a pandemic, when nobody really seems to know what's going on from one day to the next?
Morgan: The name of the game is long-term planning and a lot of people, even people who have never invested, are trying to get into the market now and trying to time up these risky stocks. Really, though, the name of the game is long-term and that's what we're all about, long-term, goals-based wealth management.
As long as we can keep our clients focused on their goals and not as much on the markets, then that's where they can relieve a lot of stress and anxiety.
Frierson: How many hours a day are you on the phone talking to clients?
Morgan: I'd say I'm on the phone probably six hours a day.
Frierson: That's a long way from being a football player.
Morgan: It's definitely different but I really enjoy it. It's challenging and that's why they typically recruit athletes, because of our work ethic and our mentality. If someone tells us no, it's not going to make or break us, we can talk to the next prospect. It's kind of like kicking a field goal: if you miss your first kick in the game, you're not going to go out there and miss all the rest. I hope not, anyway.
Frierson: Speaking of, when was the last time you kicked a football?
Morgan: It's funny you ask, I actually hadn't kicked in a while and we recently moved to Watkinsville, and my neighbors, their son is going to be the punter at Oconee Middle School, and they reached out to me and asked if I would work with him. I said, yeah, no problem.
I went out and I helped the punter and the kicker there, and I hit a few myself. I was able to knock down a 55-yarder. I was like, I'm a dad now, let's see if I still got it — and I had it.
I haven't stopped training, really. Some people get what they call a "dad bod" and I'm trying to keep it more of a "father figure," so to say.
Frierson: Do you miss the routines of football or are you glad to now have all that in the rearview mirror?
Morgan: It's a little bit of both. I miss the camaraderie of the team and just everything that goes along with it, and of course game day between the hedges. I really don't miss my entire schedule from 7 in the morning to 7 or 8 p.m. being just football. I love the flexibility now. I can go on vacation, I can go hunting during hunting season. Before it was one weekend, I think it was the one weekend before Georgia-Florida, that was the one weekend when we were able to go hunting in south Georgia.
Frierson: What did you, as a great Georgia kicker yourself, make of the way that Rodrigo Blankenship became one of the most popular players that we've ever seen around here?
Morgan: I think he deserved every bit of it. He's a really cool and unique guy and I'm glad the Bulldog Nation saw that. I actually had him over for dinner maybe a month ago right before he left for Indy (Blankenship signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent) and got to catch up with him. He's just an awesome guy.
I overlapped with him for a full year, when he was redshirting, and got to watch him grow and get his confidence. He's so talented and everybody saw that, obviously. And I'm sure he's told you, he could be a professional rapper, too. He's pretty dang good at spittin' some rhymes.
Frierson: If you could be great at anything for a day, just to experience it, what would it be?
Morgan: I would say an airplane pilot, like a Blue Angel.
Frierson: Have you ever thought about taking flying lessons?
Morgan: I have, actually. I haven't made any progress with it but it's definitely been on my mind. Between that and possibly skydiving, those are things I'd like to try. My brother was in the 82nd Airborne and he jumped out of airplanes, and I've always wanted to try it just to see what it's like. It'd be cool to fly, too.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there anything creative you do or wish you could do?
Morgan: I do woodwork — when we moved into our first house in Athens, we quickly realized how expensive it is to furnish a whole home out of college. I started buying tools slowly but surely for each project and now I have a whole woodwork shop. I just do it for stuff that we need around the house; right now I'm working on a built-in office unit for my wife. I just do some cool woodwork stuff, some cornhole boards, a porch swing, stuff like that. I really enjoy it.
Frierson: Is it fair to say that making all those things scratches an itch that some much of the rest of your life doesn't?
Morgan: Yeah, I just like the numbers and making stuff work and fitting stuff together. I was a big Lego guy growing up.
Frierson: You and Devon are obviously linked because of what happened, and I saw where he was at your wedding a few years ago. What is your relationship with him like now?
Morgan: It's funny you ask, we actually just had him and his family over for dinner this past weekend, just to reconnect and have them over to our new house. We just wanted to show them around and his dad, Donny, is a big hunter and I wanted to show him the back porch that overlooks all these woods where there's deer.
It was just nice to have them over and catch up and talk to him about the upcoming season. It looks like they're going to be able to play, but we'll see. He's still coaching at Jefferson and his younger brother is actually going to play on the team. It's pretty cool that his younger brother is going to be on the team and is going to have to call him "Coach Devon."
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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