Morrison the perfect candidate to take charge of Raider ‘D’

By Anthony Carroll  |   Tuesday, May 20, 2008  |  Comments( 21 )

Oakland Raiders
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It was only three years ago when the Oakland Raiders selected San Diego State middle linebacker Kirk Morrison in the third round of the NFL draft.

Now, it appears 27 will need to be the new 35.

With the retirement of 35-year-old defensive tackle Warren Sapp earlier this offseason, a gap was not only left behind at DT, but also in the role of defensive ring leader. At just 27, Morrison appears to be the perfect candidate to fill the void.

Born and raised in Oakland, the 240-pound Morrison has started in all but one game since he was drafted 78th overall in 2005. The only contest the young linebacker didn’t start was on Sept. 8, 2005 -- his first NFL regular-season appearance. After racking up 10 tackles coming off the bench, however, Morrison hasn’t missed a start since.

Since his rookie season, the Bishop O’Dowd High School grad has racked up 363 tackles, 15 passes defensed, six interceptions and two sacks. Last season was his best as a pro, when he recorded 120 tackles to coincide with a career-high 10 passes defensed and four picks.

“A real family kid,” Paul Perenon, the football coach at Bishop O’Dowd High, described of Morrison to the Oakland Tribune shortly after he was drafted. “[He’s got] a mom who is very supportive, very appreciative, who’s never been afraid to say what she feels.”

With the support of his family, Morrison made the short trip to San Diego State after his high school days in Oakland. There hasn’t been an easy road since.

Morrison graduated from SDSU after studying criminal justice for four years, all while he was earning All-America honors in football. The soon-to-be-fourth-year linebacker was the first two-time All-American for the Aztecs since RB Marshall Faulk. While earning his diploma, the 6-foot-2 defender registered a career 396 tackles, 9½ sacks, eight fumbles forced, six interceptions and 11 pass deflections.

“They each take hard work. They’re not something given to you. You’ve got to earn them,” Morrison said just months after being drafted. “I earned my degree, going to school every day, doing what I am supposed to do, and when it came to football, it was the same way. I did the things necessary and stayed out of trouble.”

Since, Morrison has lived up to every Raider stereotype there is -- aside from those that deal with off-the-field antics.

He has the old-school nastiness with the new-school speed. He just doesn’t break laws. He volunteers.

“I remember growing up and being impacted by positive messages that were relayed to us,” Morrison described.

Since the former third-rounder has been with the silver and black, however, the outspoken Sapp has been serving as a role model on the roster. The 13-year vet finally called it quits earlier this offseason, though, after nine years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and four in Oakland.

With Sapp out of the picture, there’s no better player on the Raider ‘D’ to take charge than Morrison.

He’s already at the center of Oakland’s defense. And it certainly won’t take much for Oakland’s young stop unit to gravitate toward the hardworking linebacker this season.

Anthony Carroll can be contacted at
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
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CommentsComments: 21  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
RaiderSensation		02:48 AM
05/20/2008
My vote is for Morrison or Asmougha to lead the defense. They have both been the silent leaders on defense, they should be...
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No.2
The Shape		04:39 AM
05/20/2008
Nice article on Morrison, lets just hope he doesn't have to make a million tackles to save the defense this year. A. C., look...
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No.3
Dirtbag24		07:03 AM
05/20/2008
we are one strong side linebacker away from having a nasty defense. Morrison and Howard should have made the pro bowl last year,...
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