Meet the Gators: Q&A with Early Enrollee Antonio Morrison
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 | Football, Scott Carter
Editor's note: National Signing Day was last Wednesday and Gators coach Will Muschamp officially announced the 2012 recruiting class. Six members enrolled early, however, and began classes in January. GatorZone.com continues its series on UF's early enrollees.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – If you bump into Antonio Morrison around campus or walk past him in the mall, you won't be surprised to learn he is a middle linebacker.
However, you might be stunned to discover he is a freshman yet to play his first game.
The 6-foot-1, 209-pound Morrison has a physique and the confidence of a player much older. He walks and talks with a don't-come-this-way aura that some of the game's best middle linebackers often exude.
Morrison signed with the Gators out of Bolingbrook High in Bolingbrook, Ill.
Here is our Q&A with Morrison:
Q: What was the key factor in you deciding to leave your home state and come to UF?
A: For me it was really between Oregon and Illinois. I just thought it over. I knew in the SEC you are competing every week. Every game you play is fierce competition. That's why I decided on Florida.
Q: What is your most memorable moment playing football?
A: For me it was watching since I didn't play in the state championship game [due to broken bone in my foot]. It was me watching my team win a state championship because I led my team there in all the games we played. I didn't get a chance to play, but it was great to see all those guys go out and win a championship.
Q: When did you first realize you had the potential to be a Division I scholarship player?
A: Since I was little man, ever since I started playing football. I didn't want my parents to pay for me to go to college, so football was always something I wanted to do. Now I'm here and I'm just trying to get to the next level from here.
Q: Do you have connections to Florida before deciding to come down here?
A: None.
Q: What kind of competition did you face in Illinois playing for Bolingbrook?
A: We've got a few guys who can play. I'll be honest the competition ain't the best up there. We play a lot of bum teams. We blow every team out and I get out by like the third quarter. Now I'm down here and it's competition every single day. I've got to work hard and bring that hard-work mentality and do whatever it takes to get on the field.
Q: Who was your greatest influence growing up?
A: My family man because they were always on me. They pushed me to be the greatest. My older brother [Anthony] played linebacker at Eastern Illinois in college. He was real tough on me. He showed me a lot of stuff since I was little that helped me get here.
Q: What's a talent you have other than football that we might not know about?
A: Man, I think I could be a Division I basketball player to be honest. Maybe not like for Kentucky or Florida or something, but I think I could play Division I basketball. I played until my sophomore year in high school and then I just focused on football.
