Antonio Morrison navigates the course during his workout at Tuesday's Gators Pro Day. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA)
Gators LB Antonio Morrison Answers Bell at Pro Day
Tuesday, March 22, 2016 | Football, Scott Carter
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Morrison confident he proved to scouts he is healthy and ready for NFL
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Antonio Morrison was back doing what he loves Tuesday.
Morrison was on a football field, one of 15 Gators and three ex-Gators participating in Florida's Pro Day inside the team's indoor practice facility. Morrison was barely mobile a year ago during Pro Day after suffering a serious knee injury in the Birmingham Bowl two months earlier.
"I was out there walking,'' he said. "I wasn't running."
Morrison's comeback story has been well-documented. He underwent multiple knee surgeries prior to last season and then developed tunnel-vision in his quest to return in time to play his senior season.
Instead of the normal 10-to-12-month recovery, Morrison was back in the starting lineup in the season opener and led the Gators in tackles (103) for the second consecutive season. NFL personnel watch Antonio Morrison cross the finish line in the 40-yard dash. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA) Morrison was on a different mission Tuesday.
One of eight Gators invited to last month's NFL combine in Indianapolis, Morrison was sick and unable to participate.
"I just wanted to show guys I'm healthy, that I can do everything you all want me to do.'' he said. "That was a huge question. I'm a competitor and I'm going to go out and I'm going to do it."
Morrison showed no signs of being hampered by his left knee or the wear and tear of last season, or his recent illness. He bench-pressed 225 pounds 23 times, and posted unofficial times of 5.0 in the 40-yard dash and 4.65 in the shuttle.
Morrison admits his times won't blow anyone away.
"The type of guy like me, these numbers and all that stuff ain't going to show what type of player I am,'' he said. "You put the film on to see what type of guy I am. I'm a competitor.
"For what I had [knee injury], I could have easily said I wasn't going to do any of this stuff, but I'm a competitor and I wanted to come out here and compete with guys I've been doing it with for four years."
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 233 pounds, Morrison's game is based on his physicality and leadership skills. He often set the tone for Florida's defense, including in last season's victory over Ole Miss when he finished with a career-high 16 tackles.
Morrison earned second-team All-SEC honors as a junior and senior and became the first UF player to record back-to-back 100-tackle seasons since linebacker Ed Robinson in 1992-93.
One AFC general manager shared his scouting report on Morrison with NFL.com this way: "Write him up however you want, but he's a two-down MIKE linebacker who is tough as hell and a good football player. I worry much less about his 'negatives' than I do what he can do."
Morrison is confident that whatever concerns teams have about him won't last once they work him out during a string of upcoming meetings.
"Since I was unable to go to the combine, I've got a ton of visits,'' he said. "I'm going to be gone for a while. I've got a ton of meetings and I'm just going to show guys what I can bring to their team.
"They love my leadership. Mainly, they ask everybody around the building, everything that has been around me, what type of guy I am. Everything has been positive. You know, I had some incidents when I was younger, but I was 18 at the time. Guys know I have matured from that and they just like the way I play, like what I bring to the table and what I can bring to the team."
Morrison grew up in metro Chicago but wasn't a Bears fan. Instead, he rooted for the Ravens. He was a running back until switching to linebacker in high school.
In the NFL, he'll try to make his living by stopping running backs. He has spent most of the past two months working out with teammates Jon Bullard, Vernon Hargreaves III and Jake McGee in Pensacola to prepare for Tuesday's Pro Day.
He walked off the field convinced he answered whatever questions teams may have had about his health.
"The times might not reflect on it, but I'm happy I did everything. It felt good,'' he said. "They tell me that they know I'm not a big numbers-type guy. I ain't got to say it to them. They put the film on and they see how I play.
"I'm blessed to be in this position that I'm in, to be able to accomplish what I've been dreaming of since I was little."
