As a two-way football player for Stevenson, Matt Morrissey became comfortable making big plays.
In 2013, his senior season, Morrissey scored 10 touchdowns at the wide receiver position. As a safety, he recorded 89 tackles.
This season, Morrissey is learning to become comfortable in a new role with a new team.
Instead of being his quarterback’s favorite target, the 6-2, 190-pound Michigan State freshman is charged with preventing Spartan wide receivers from scoring.
“A big part is we have a scout team. We replicate what the [opposing] defense will be for our offense,” Morrissey said of the scout team at Michigan State, which has its own moniker, Rocks. “We watch a lot of film on the opposing defense.”
Morrissey is a redshirt freshman in 2014. This is not an uncommon designation for first-year players at Football Bowl Subdivision programs. Morrissey participates in all team functions like practices, meals, and weight lifting and film sessions. He receives academic support. But he does not play on Saturdays.
Beginning in 2015, Morrissey, a finance major, can play four more years for the Spartans. So much of what Morrissey does now — an NCAA-mandated 20 hours per week of practice time, maximum — is preparing for his future.
“You have to earn your way and earn the jersey,” Morrissey said. “Our best players have redshirted. You have to keep your head down and keep working.”
That is a philosophy followed by another former area football player, Bo Dever.
A 2012 graduate of Lake Forest, Dever chose Michigan. Like Morrissey, he redshirted his first season (in 2012).
“I was doing scout team stuff. Going against the first-team defense very day,” said Dever, a 6-2, 199-pound wide receiver. “Doing that, I made myself better.”
Before he enrolled at Michigan, Dever was told the transition from high school student-athlete to college could be treacherous. He moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and began taking classes in the summer of 2012, before his freshman football season started.
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The jumpstart helped, but didn’t completely erase the challenges of his transition.
“I heard how big of a time commitment it was. I didn’t actually know until I got there,” Dever said. “The fall I was taking 14 credit hours and had 20 hours a week of practice. It was pretty overwhelming.”
Dever adjusted. In 2013, he appeared in one game. This season, he played in 10 games and started against Maryland on Nov. 22.
He said valuable lessons learned as a freshman prepared him for 2014.
“I talked to my teammates [freshman year] and they said if I go as hard as I can, it really helps them out. It pushed me and that built a lot of confidence,” Dever said. “When I played this year, it wasn’t that big a difference.”
On Jan. 1, Michigan State will face Baylor in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Morrissey will travel with the team, but will not play. By the time the Spartans kick off at 11:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, Morrissey will have watched hours upon hours of film on the Bears’ defense. He will have done his best to mimic their schemes and tendencies.
It’s all part of his vital role as a Michigan State “Rocks” player.
“I go against the best players in the country and it makes you a better player,” Morrissey said. “That’s a big reason why I came to MSU.”