James Morgan literally brought the house down to rob teammate Michael Carter of a home run at George Fant’s Dream Big Celebrity Softball Game in Bowling Green, KY.
The New York Jets quarterback became a receiver on Saturday, taking down the home run fencing set up at Hot Rods Stadium (home of the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays) to steal a homer from his running back.
He was immediately surrounded by jubilant fans and teammates, including Carter himself, who jokingly tried to sack Morgan after the miraculous grab.
Jets fans put in reactions of awe and humor after watching Morgan’s outfield heroics:
Fant’s charity softball endeavor was a bit of a homecoming for Morgan, who began his college football career at Bowling Green State University. Morgan would throw for 3,342 yards and 25 touchdowns over two seasons (2016-17) with the Falcons before transferring to Florida International.
His 16 touchdown passes during his rookie season were good for a school record. The Wisconsin native previously lettered in basketball before beginning a college career that saw him move to Miami and finish second in Golden Panther history in yardage (5,312) and passing touchdowns (40).
Jets fans may be pleased to finally see Morgan in action as he did not dress for any of the team’s 16 games last season after they drafted him in the fourth round out of FIU last spring. He’s currently competing for the backup quarterback role with Mike White, though it’s possible the Jets could bring in a veteran to compete at training camp.
Robert Saleh, however, isn’t so sure, and hinted that the backup battle could indeed come down to a battle between Morgan and White.
“If you just bring in a veteran who doesn’t know your scheme, he’s learning just like the rookie is,” Saleh said. “Aside from helping him with rehab … and study habits, which I think Zach and that entire quarterback room is already ahead of the curve on how they handle their bodies and study, I don’t know if there’s much value aside from being comfortable that if the crap hits the fan you have a veteran who has played football. It’s more of a comforting feeling rather than working your ass off to develop the quarterbacks who are already in the building.”
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