Competition.
That's the part of football that most intrigues Karl Morgan.
From his introduction to the sport more than 30 years ago to his playing days at UCLA to his first head coaching job, it's always about the competition.
"In this game, you are judged on your progress every Saturday when they turn that scoreboard on. At the end of the day, it speaks volumes," said the 48-year-old Houma, La., native. "These is nothing like competing on that field and winning."
After spending the last five seasons as the defensive coordinator at North Alabama, one of the nation's top NCAA Division II programs, Morgan brings that winning spirit with him as the new head coach at Mississippi Valley State.
The Lions were 55-10 during Morgan's time as their defensive boss and were among the nation's best Division II defenses at forcing turnovers.
Morgan now faces a huge challenge as he tries to build a winning tradition at a school that has had just five winning seasons the last 20 years. When he began pursing the vacancy created when Willie Totten stepped down with a 31-57 record in eight seasons, Morgan had friends in the coaching profession to warn him to be careful what he wished for because he might get it.
Morgan, who was named Totten's replacement on Jan. 11, came in with his eyes wide open. He knew about the small budget. He knew he wouldn't get 63 scholarships as allotted to Football Championship Subdivision teams. He knew that winning seasons have been hard to come by in Itta Bena.
"That wasn't a deterrent for me, though, because I think I can be successful raising money," he said. "I want to be here and think we can be successful here in the future.
"The biggest thing is changing the mind-set because I see a lot of promise here."
As far as raising money, Morgan says he has made plenty of contacts from his collegiate days as a standout nose guard at UCLA and his three years in the NFL.
When he was a defensive coordinator at Alcorn State in 1991, the team needed new uniforms but couldn't afford them. Morgan called former Bruin teammate Rick Neuheisel for help. Neuheisel, the current UCLA head coach, sent Morgan a check for $10,000.
Valley interim Athletic Director Donald Ray Sims is excited about what Morgan brings to the Delta Devil program.
"Obviously, he's had a lot of success as a defensive coordinator and learned from a lot of good head coaches, but the thing I liked the most was that he is used to working with limited resources, last working at a Division II school," Sims said.
"I also liked his energy, the professionalism about him and the aggressiveness of his teams at North Alabama."
Morgan has a plan for turning things around at MVSU that includes success in the classroom. He believes that will translate to better players on the field.
Morgan also wants to improve the team's strength and conditioning program and find star players in the Mississippi Delta in what he calls a "fertile ground for recruiting."
The new Valley coach isn't laying out a time table, but he is promising future success.
"Well done is always better than well said. The one thing that I can say is we will coach hard and play hard," Morgan said.
"If we do that and then start executing, the wins will come in due time."
Morgan first played organized football in the eighth grade. Two years later, he was drawing considerable interest from college recruiters.
As a high school senior, he took official visits to UCLA, Texas, Tennessee and Tulane. He says he picked UCLA because he "wanted to get far away from Louisiana."
Morgan started a few games as a freshman under then-head coach Terry Donahue. As a sophomore, he alternated possessions on the defensive line before becoming a standout player the next two seasons.
As a senior, Morgan was a defensive force on what was the most successful team in Donahue's 20-year tenure at UCLA as the Bruins went 10-1-1, beat Michigan 24-14 in Rose Bowl and finished ranked No. 5 in the nation.
While at UCLA, Morgan recorded 35 tackles for loss and 17 quarterback sacks. He was a two-time recipient of the Henry R. "Red" Sanders Trophy for the Bruins' Most Valuable Defensive Player.
Morgan played professional football with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League in 1983. He was also drafted by the Arizona Wranglers of the United States Football League. He then played with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League from 1984 to 1986 and was in camp with the Houston Oilers when he was cut just prior to the 1986 season.
"I am thankful for my time in the NFL, but it wasn't glamorous," Morgan said. "I was one of the guys at the bottom of the barrel with very little job security, but I did enjoy playing in the NFL."
When he was cut from the Oilers, Morgan returned to Louisiana to work in his father's shoe repair shop. He soon spotted a newspaper ad seeking a head football coach at a small catholic school in Morgan City, La.
He interviewed and got the job, serving four years at Central Catholic High School.
Morgan immediately knew he wanted a future in coaching football.
"Football had been such a big part of my life for so long that I knew I wanted to stay connected to it once I got that first taste of coaching," he explained. "Now I can't imagine not being part of a team."
He moved into the collegiate ranks as an assistant in 1993 with a two-year stint at Nicholls State. Since then he has had stops at Southern, Purdue, Arkansas State, Alcorn, Hampton and North Alabama.
Outside of building a winning program, Morgan hopes to build men of character while at Valley.
"The great thing about coaching is that you can make a difference in so many lives," Morgan said. "We want to build great young men and prepare them for the rest of their life because the majority of them will be finished with football when they leave here."
