FIU quarterback gets rewarded for his leap of faith

FIU quarterback James Morgan isn’t intimidated by 280-pound defensive linemen, and he doesn’t seem to fear the 60-foot plunge that is the “Leap of Faith” water slide at the Atlantis Paradise Island hotel in the Bahamas.

“I think I’ve got to do [the slide],” said Morgan, who will lead his Panthers (8-4) against the Toledo Rockets (7-5) in the Dec. 21 Bahamas Bowl. “When in Rome …”

In a sense, this entire season has been a leap of faith for Morgan, who left Bowling Green as a graduate transfer and landed at FIU this past summer. He beat out Christian Alexander in a tight quarterback battle this fall and went on to set the FIU single-season record with 26 touchdown passes.

Morgan was intercepted just seven times, and, if FIU beats Toledo, he will have been the quarterback on the Panthers team that set the school record for most wins in a season.

On Wednesday, Morgan was named Conference USA’s Newcomer of the Year.

“It’s an absolute honor,” Morgan said. “It’s a testament to the work our entire offense put in — I don’t get this award if I didn’t have a group around me that is performing at a high level.”

FIU will leave for the Bahamas on Dec. 17, and this will Morgan’s first trip to the tropical island and also his first time playing in a bowl game.

But it won’t be his first time facing Toledo, which is Bowling Green’s biggest rival. The two campuses are located just 25 miles apart, and the Mid-American Conference schools play each other annually in the “Battle of 1-75”.

During Morgan’s three years at Bowling Green, his Falcons went 0-3 against Toledo. Morgan played in just one of those games — and it was memorable.

As a redshirt freshman in 2016, Morgan threw five touchdown passes in a 42-35 loss to Toledo. Morgan completed 25-of-38 passes for 335 yards, with just one interception.

Morgan threw four of his TD passes in the second half, including three in the fourth quarter. But Toledo running back Kareem Hunt, recently released by the Kansas City Chiefs, scored the winning touchdown with 18 seconds left.

“That was the most fun I had that year,” Morgan said of his performance. “I have a lot of respect for [Toledo].”

The Rockets, one year removed from an 11-3 season, won four of their five final games to earn this bowl berth. They average 41.1 points per game and 5.3 yards per rush while converting 38 percent on third down.

Defensively, however, Morgan may do some damage against the Rockets, who allow 30.2 points and 258 yards passing per game.

THIS AND THAT

▪ Two FIU players made first-team All-Conference USA: middle linebacker Sage Lewis, who set a school record with 126 tackles; and punt returner Maurice Alexander, who converted from quarterback to receiver this year and led the league with 13.6 yards per punt return.

▪ Two FIU players made second team: guard Jordan Budwig and punter Stone Wilson.

This story was originally published December 5, 2018 at 1:13 PM.