Wide receiver Stanley Morgan Jr. joins the New Orleans Saints not just as a four-year NFL veteran who has made a name for himself on special teams, but as a former St. Augustine Purple Knight returning to play for the city he calls home.
Morgan signed with the Saints in free agency after spending the first four years of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals. Now the New Orleans native gets an opportunity to play for the team he grew up rooting for.
"Growing up, it was kind of like a dream. You always dreamed of being a football player in the NFL first of all and to be home playing in front of your friends and family, that's surreal," Morgan said on an episode of the New Orleans Saints Podcast earlier in the offseason.
Morgan said his family is "overwhelmed with joy" that he returned home. His family also has connections to the organization with his aunt working at the team's office and his cousin working gamedays in the Caesars Superdome.
"My mom doesn't have to get on a plane no more," Morgan said. "My grandmother can come watch me play, practice. I have opportunity."
When the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV, Morgan said he got a week off school and that he got the opportunity to attend the parade celebrating the victory.
"I didn't think I was going to ever be a Saint," he said. "I just thought I was just going to be playing football at other places and just come here in the summer and just enjoy myself."
He said he loves the culture of the team and the impact it makes on the community.
"When the Saints do something for the city and do it big, the fans and the city are going to follow behind the Saints," Morgan said. "The Saints just kind of set the tone for the city."
Morgan appeared in 51 games for the Bengals after joining the team as an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska in 2019, recording 30 special teams stops (20 solo) and catching five passes for 29 yards. Morgan said becoming primarily a special teams player after a productive college career did not bother him at all.
"I just felt like it was just a new thing in my life to learn," he said. "And I actually fell in love with it, just learning the special teams and learning how to tackle. I never had to tackle in my life, so being out there on that field and making every tackle and learning is just something new. I love new things to challenge me."
At Nebraska, Morgan played in 49 games, placing his name throughout Cornhuskers receiving record books, leaving with career school marks in receptions (189) and receiving yardage (2,747) and tying for second in receiving touchdowns (22). His 1,004 receiving yards in 2018 made him the first-ever Nebraska player to top the 1,000 yard-mark. Despite receiving offers from schools throughout the country, Nebraska was his only an official visit. Nebraska's coach came out to see Morgan practice at St. Augustine.
"I thought that was very wow, you know, he came in my practice in the Seventh Ward, so it was like, OK, they love me and then, when I went out there, was just I fell in love with the fans and the community, bunch of nice people," Morgan said. "It was just a new opportunity for me to be myself and be different."
Morgan said he was excited to join the wide receiver room with some young standout receivers in Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed.
"I played mostly special teams, so just to be in a room with these young guys and learn … and if I can give them experience, if I can, they can pick my brain as well," he said.
Another player he mentioned he's eager to be in the locker room with is two-time All-Pro special teams player defensive back J.T. Gray.
"Me and him, we did a couple battles together," Morgan said. "I'm excited to work with him and learn from him."
He'll also join the locker room with another former St. Augustine Purple Knight in safety Tyrann Mathieu. Morgan said he was a ball boy for St. Augustine when Mathieu was playing there. He said Mathieu is a "New Orleans living legend" and that he has counseled him during his career.
"Going through my college process as well too and just going undrafted as well too, he kind of kept in my ear just keeping me motivated, keep me going, so we have a good relationship," Morgan said.
Morgan said he hopes to be a resource for his teammates unfamiliar with the city as well as bring an energy and his "good, genuine love and just passion for the game" to the locker room.
Morgan said the change of scenery will give him a clean slate to work from and that opportunities as a professional athlete are often "slim to none."
"It's an opportunity with a capital O," Morgan said.
