Freshmen Faces: Jordan Morant

Coming out of Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic, Jordan Morant was considered a four-star prospect, the No. 165 overall player nationally and the No. 10 safety in the country according to the 247 Sports Composite. As a senior, Morant registered 12 tackles, one pass breakup and returned a kickoff for a touchdown before injuring his foot in late September, causing him to miss the rest of the season. He's now in Ann Arbor rehabbing the Lisfranc joint injury, which can take up to a year to heal.

Recruitment

Morant committed to Michigan on June 23, 2019 after one of the biggest official visit weekends of the summer. Morant was targeted by Michigan early in the process as a standout in the state of New Jersey. His high school coach, Vito Campanile, is the brother of former U-M assistant Anthony Campanile, which certainly helped U-M land the talented safety. The stout safety racked up more than 30 offers over his high school career and had some very good options to choose from. He had opportunities from schools like Alabama, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC and Wisconsin among others.

Player Breakdown/Player Comparison

Morant is an interesting prospect. At 5-11, 212 pounds, he's a very thickly built safety who can really help against the run. At the same time, he runs well, has great instincts and seems to make a lot of plays on the ball when it's in the air. He also showed his athleticism and burst as a return man in high school. Morant isn't a burner and isn't as twitchy as some other athletes Michigan has recruited recently, but he's really good at everything. He can tackle and cover, he's smart and tough and he's really coachable as a player who wants to be great.

When I watch Morant run around with his stocky build and compact frame, I see New England Patriots stand out Patrick Chung.

The two have a nearly identical build. At the 2009 NFL Combine, Chung checked in at 5-11, 212 pounds, which is exactly what Morant is listed at on MGoBlue.com. Neither of them are overly long but both have a very stout, strong look to them and use their builds to their advantage.

Morant isn't a burner, and neither is Chung with 4.51 speed, which seems to indicate that the freshman could be a box safety or maybe even a viper depending on how he develops while in Ann Arbor. He's really good against the run and is a sure, violent tackler. He's got coverage ability, but will definitely be more comfortable making stops in college.

2020 Outlook

Michigan is in great shape at safety with senior Brad Hawkins and sophomore standout Daxton Hill holding down the top two spots. Behind them, however, it's pretty thin. If Morant is healthy enough to give it a go, he could get a look as a potential backup safety. If he's not 100% healthy, he'll sit out his rookie campaign and take a redshirt. That would allow him to learn and get healed up before really challenging for playing time in 2021.

There's also the potential that he could play viper, which seems to be in pretty good hands with Michael Barrett and Anthony Solomon figuring to be one and two on the depth chart in 2020. There are also a few other players who could play the position, including Morant's classmate William Mohan, making the path to playing time quite a bit tougher at viper.