Luke Morgan has traded the purple and white colors of Gilmer High for the black and gold of the Ferrum College (Va.) Panthers.
Morgan, a 2020 GHS honor graduate, accepted a scholarship to play football at Ferrum. He also considered The University of the South in Tenn., which is commonly refereed to as Sewanee.
“I’ve always wanted to play college football ever since I started when I was young,” Morgan said. “I knew this was something I wanted to do.
“When I went for my visit, I really loved it at Ferrum, and that’s one of the reasons I decided to go. It reminds me a lot of Ellijay. It’s small, but it’s kind of big at the same time. It looked like they had a really great community around them, and I felt like that had a big impact on where I decided to go.”
Morgan credits his older brother Drew as the one who helped him achieve this goal by setting an example to follow.
“He’s probably had the most impact on me because when he played in high school (at Gilmer) their teams were top-notch, always going to the playoffs and winning all the time,” he said. “That’s what I always wanted to do. My brother is just a great man. He always looks after me and is just a good guy and that’s who I want to be.”
The younger Morgan found success in the rec leagues, which continued at Clear Creek Middle School. However, his time at GHS differed greatly from Drew’s experience.
By Morgan’s freshman year, the Bobcats were under their third coach in as many seasons. When Jason Galt was relieved of his head coaching duties after just three games, Casey Wingard became Gilmer High’s fourth head coach in a brief span.
Gilmer did not win a game over Morgan’s first three seasons.
“That time taught me to be humble,” he said. “Growing up in park and rec and middle school, I didn’t really lose. Having that three-year streak of not winning a game made me humble and taught me to keep my head in the game.
“There were some chances where I could have moved to either Fannin or Pickens, but I decided to stay at Gilmer. This is my hometown, and I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”
But not everyone shared Morgan’s resolve and sentiment. Some teammates, as well as a coach left Gilmer for archrival Pickens.
By his 12th grade year, Morgan was one of only five remaining seniors and participation dipped below 40 players.
Kevin Saunders was hired to right the ship and the Bobcats got to work immediately improving their mental and physical toughness.
“During spring, I didn’t think anything was going to change at first,” Morgan said. “Coach Saunders’ style is a lot tougher than what I was used to. During my whole high school career, we never did a mat drill until coach Saunders came up.
“Every day he told us he was going to make practice harder each week so the games will feel easy. Games on Friday nights really weren’t that hard compared to practice. It was tough to get used to, but after the first few weeks, I got used to it pretty quick.”
Saunders’ stepson Spenser Smith arrived as well and played quarterback and safety for GHS. Ashton White moved in from Cherokee County and started at fullback and linebacker.
“That first practice during the summer, I told the team I’m tired of losing and they all were tired of it, too,” Morgan said.
“With Spenser and Ashton coming in, they were ready to get to work and win some games instead of just coming in and playing. From those first mat drills to spring practice and everything, it all clicked.”
In week two of last season, Gilmer beat Towns County 56-12 to end the state’s longest winless streak, which stood at 31 games.
“That Towns County game, first win in high school, first win on that field and that first play on offense ... Coach Saunders told me he wanted to go on offense first, and right then I knew we were going to win,” Morgan recalled.
“On the first play, Ashton went straight to the house and scored. I knew the game as over at that point and that we weren’t going to let up for a while.”
GHS finished with a 4-6 record, its most wins since the 2015 season. Morgan was a three-year starter and received an all-region honorable mention as a junior and senior.
Morgan played on both sides of the line at GHS and is expecting to play center on offense at Ferrum.
“I just want to play,” Morgan said when asked if he has an offensive or defensive preference. “If they have a spot for me to play, I’m just going to go after it.”
He noted center is a position that is not as deep as guard or tackle and that he could be in the mix for a starting spot. Morgan believes his senior season prepared him for this opportunity.
“I’m a little nervous about it but am really excited about it at the same time,” he said. “Coach Saunders and all the coaches from this past year helped me compete a lot more than I had been during my high school career. This past year has been the one where I competed the most. They brought all of that out of me and I think I’m going to be ready for it.”
Morgan plans to major in physical education to become a teacher and coach and would like to return to Gilmer’s sideline.
“I’ve always wanted to coach and I love football,” he said. “I feel like I know the game pretty well. I love watching it and playing it and I like to scheming my own stuff sometimes. I feel like I could be a good coach.
“From the past coaches I had, (from) coach (Jerry) Barnes (at CCMS) to coach Saunders, they’ve all had an influence on why I wanted to be a coach ... especially coach Saunders. He really proved that I want to be a coach because I love his coaching style and everything.”
When asked about moving away from Ellijay, Morgan said, “I’m looking forward to a new environment. Leaving Georgia for Virginia, I feel that’s going to be a little different. I’m looking forward to being on my own a little bit and see how I deal with that.
“I’m really looking forward to see how the summer practices will be and how the regular college practices will go. I’ve always been told that watching film is a lot different in college and I’m ready to see what I can do up there.”
Morgan has been given workouts to complete over the offseason, and plans are for players to report to campus in August.
Ferrum is a private college and competes in the NCAA’s Division III as members of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.