TEXAS — It wasn’t love at first hit for Daeshon Morgan, but he eventually he found football to his liking. 

“I’m not gonna lie. I did not like football. I was kind of forced into it,” says Morgan. “Once I started learning how to hit and stop being soft, I learned to love it. My momma got on me a few times and I was like, let’s go.”

Morgan has developed into a dominant defensive lineman at Vandegrift High School. He’s the next in line of big guys with D1 talent to come through that school. Two years ago, the Vipers had DL Daemian Wimberley and OL Ian Reed go off to major programs and last year it was OL Blake Frazier. Morgan was able to learn a lot from each of those guys.

“Ian and Blake made me better every day. They taught me you’re not going to get in the backfield every time,” says Morgan. “I told them don’t go easy on me. Daemian took me under his wing from day one, coming out here grinding after practice.”

Now it’s Morgan’s turn to be the senior leader for Vandegrift. He’s hoping to get the Viper’s back to the playoffs and back to the state title game like the 2022 team. He’s also hoping to avenge the first round loss they had to Lake Travis last season. 

“We ain’t gonna let that happen again. LT had their chance now it’s our time,” says Morgan. “We’ve been training real hard this summer, ain’t playing no games.”

Vandegrift has been one of the top programs in the Austin area for over a decade. Morgan thinks this team in 2024 could be special.

“Not only me be a leader, the whole team be a leader,” says Morgan. “That’s the biggest thing I’ve been trying to work on is make sure everybody leads.”

Morgan is able to focus on his senior season after taking care of his college commitment a few months back. He lined up lots of offers from some top programs across the country and eventually picked Arizona State. 

“I never thought I’d be in the desert but I’m ok with that heat,” says Morgan. “All the coaches were really loving, they are big on their faith, they acted like I was already their teammate when I went to visit.”

While football consumes most of his time, Morgan does have hobbies away from the field.

“I love cooking and I love cleaning. It’s weird, you don’t hear it all the time, but I got bad OCD,” says Morgan. “I like stuff a certain way, I don’t like my room being all funky, I like it being in place.”

Everything is in place for Morgan and Vandegrift to have a big season in 2024. They open Aug. 30th against Dripping Springs.