Donovan Morgan (born July 29, 1982) is a former

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

wide receiver. After playing

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

, Morgan was signed as an

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, spending time in their

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

. He played two stints with the

Tulsa Talons Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

of the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

. While a member of the Talons in 2005, Morgan set af2 records for

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

receptions (54), total touchdowns (57) and points scored in a season (346). He was signed by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

on May 21, 2007, but released on August 27, 2007.

Early life

Morgan attended Sarah T. Reed High School in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Professional career

NFL

Morgan spent 2004 to 2006 in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. In 2005 with the Texans, Morgan played in three games, catching four passes for 42 yards.

af2

Morgan had two stints with the

. In 2005, he played for Tulsa in the

. He set af2 records with 346 points, 57 total touchdowns, and 54 receiving touchdowns. He was named the af2 Rookie of the Year.

Buffalo Bills

In 2007, Morgan signed with the

and spent time with the team during training camp.

Arena Football League

In 2008, Morgan signed with the Chicago Rush, catching 111 passes for 1,281 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was named the AFL Rookie of the Year, becoming the first player to win Rookie of the Year honors twice, in the af2 and AFL. For the Rush, Morgan formed a three-headed receiver trio with

Damian Harrell Damian Deron Harrell (born September 1, 1975) is a former arena football wide receiver. He played college football at Florida State University. In his career, Harrell had also played for the New England Sea Wolves, Toronto Phantoms, and Colora ...

and Travis LaTendresse, and all three racked up 1,000 receiving yards in the season.

CIFL

When the AFL didn't play in 2009, Morgan joined the

Chicago Slaughter The Chicago Slaughter were an American professional football team based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Having been inactive since 2013, the franchise was a part of the CIFL from 2007 to 2009, winning the championship in 2009. The Slaughter joined ...

of the

Continental Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIF ...

. There, he

Russ Michna Russell Walter Michna (born February 3, 1981) is a former arena football quarterback. A two-time league champion of the United Football League (UFL), he is the only player that has been signed to a team in every current major professional footb ...

and other former member of the Chicago Rush lead the Slaughter to a 2009

CIFL Championship Game The CIFL Championship Game was the annual championship game of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL). In 2006, it was the meeting of the two semifinal game winners. Following the 2007 and 2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, cl ...

victory. Morgan was named MVP of the championship game.

Return to the AFL

In 2010, Morgan rejoined the

, and finished the year with 123 receptions and 1,707 yards. His 52 touchdowns led the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. For 2011, Morgan joined the

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often feat ...

, rejoining quarterback Justin Allgood from Tulsa, and Chicago Rush teammate

DeJuan Alfonzo DeJuan R. Alfonzo (born January 12, 1977) is a former American football wide receiver/linebacker. Alfonzo attended Indiana State University. College and NFL career Alfonzo was a first-team All-American defensive back and a first team All-Amer ...

and former Rush coach

Mike Hohensee Michael Louis Hohensee (born February 22, 1961) is a former professional football quarterback who played in the United States Football League, Canadian Football League, National Football League and Arena Football League. He most recently the hea ...

. In 2012, he was traded to the

New Orleans VooDoo Louisiana Voodoo (french: Vaudou louisianais, es, Vudú de Luisiana), also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion which originated in Louisiana, now in the southern United States. It arose through a process of syncretis ...

at his request to be closer to his family. On February 13, 2014, he was traded to the Los Angeles KISS for Chase Deadder. On October 28, 2014, he was assigned to the Las Vegas Outlaws. On March 10, 2015, Morgan and Lacoltan Bester were traded to the KISS for

Derrick Ross ''For the National Football League running back, see Derek Ross'' Derrick Lewis Ross (born December 29, 1983) was an American football/arena football running back for the Jacksonville Sharks of the National Arena League (NAL). He played one sea ...

. He retired after the 2016 season. On March 5, 2019, Morgan came out of retirement and was assigned to the

Columbus Destroyers The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Columbus, Ohio, with home games in Nationwide Arena. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They fold ...

References

External links

Chicago Rush bio

NFL.com player page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Donovan 1982 births Living people Players of American football from New Orleans Players of Canadian football from New Orleans American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers American players of Canadian football Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football players Tulsa Talons players New York Jets players Houston Texans players Kansas City Chiefs players Chicago Rush players Chicago Slaughter players Calgary Stampeders players Philadelphia Soul players New Orleans VooDoo players Los Angeles Kiss players Las Vegas Outlaws (arena football) players Columbus Destroyers players Pearl River Wildcats football players