Kirk Ciarrocca on what drives QB Tanner Morgan: 'He's not a perfectionist. He just wants to be perfect'
Kirk Ciarrocca, the offensive coordinator for the No. 17 Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-0), met with the media on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s matchup with the Maryland Terrapins (3-4) in Minneapolis at 3:30 PM ET on ESPN.
Ryan Burns of Gopher Illustrated shared Ciarrocca’s full comments:
#Gophers offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca goes in-depth on:
– What the key is to the outside zone starting to find success
– How he thinks RB Rodney Smith has evolved
– Maryland's defense on tape
– The success of his offense so farMuch more (FREE): https://t.co/aRzOQC4DYI pic.twitter.com/DKj2aOFusR
— Ryan Burns (@RyanBurnsMN) October 23, 2019
Touching on a number of topics, Ciarrocca discussed what has allowed redshirt sophomore quarterback Tanner Morgan to find success in his first year as the unquestioned starter.
“He sees where he can get better. I think that when you have that kind of attitude, you don’t have to show a guy. You don’t have to go into this six paragraph explanation about what’s wrong with the thing. You just show him and he agrees with you. And let’s go.
“So I think it’s a really good trait for him and, it really has to do with the type of person that he is. He’s not a perfectionist. He just wants to be perfect if that makes sense. He can react when he knows it’s not always going to be perfect, but he’s striving for that.”
A three-star in the 2017 class, Morgan appeared in nine games a year ago, completing 58.6% of his passes for 1,401 yards, nine touchdowns, and six interceptions.
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After sophomore Zack Annexstad sustained a foot injury in fall camp, Morgan was handed the reigns to the starting job. The Union, Kentucky native has seized the opportunity and taken his game to a new level this season.
Throwing for 1,623 yards, Morgan has tossed 16 scores to just three interceptions while guiding the Gophers to their best start of the P.J. Fleck era.
The lone undefeated team in the B1G West, Minnesota hosts No. 6 Penn State (7-0) on November 9.