University of Minnesota quarterback and Ryle alum Tanner Morgan is headed to the United States Football League.
Morgan was drafted eighth overall by the Michigan Panthers in Tuesday’s draft. The USFL debuted in 2022 with all games being played in Birmingham, Alabama. The Panthers will play their home games this season in Detroit at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions.
The season begins April 15 with games televised on FOX and NBC. The Panthers first game is April 16 against the Houston Gamblers on NBC. The eight teams in the league are Birmingham, Houston, Memphis, Michigan, New Jersey, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Morgan will have a legitimate shot to be the starter for the Panthers, the team releasing starting quarterback Shea Patterson seven weeks into the season last year. He’ll compete with Eric Barriere and Josh Love for the starting job, two other quarterbacks currently listed on the Panthers roster. Barriere played his college football at Eastern Washington, Love at San Jose State.
The Panthers finished seventh out of the eight teams in the inaugural season.
The season runs April-July. Morgan wasn’t invited to the NFL combine, so this opportunity will give him a chance to showcase his abilities in time for a training camp invite when the 2023 NFL season starts practice in late July.
Morgan holds 12 records during his time at Minnesota, most notably with 3,253 passing yards during the 2019 and 30 touchdown passes, also during the ’19 season. He went 33-14 as a starter and had a career completion percentage of 62%.
Morgan graduated from Ryle in 2017 and is in the all-time KHSAA record book for being 10th in completions (681) and ninth in passing yards (10,303).