Senior left tackle Morgan Kinsinger has been a steadying force up front for the Pioneers for the past three years. Morgan and fellow senior Quinn Rosenthal (36 straight starts on the offensive line), have been the constants on the offensive side of the ball since late in the 2010 season. For Morgan, there have been some bumps along the way, but he's overcome all obstacles to remain a force up front.
Part of Morgan's story (beating cancer and overcoming injury) is detailed in this weeks Faces of the NCAA. Left out of the story was the hard work Morgan put in during his first year at Grinnell to even be in a position to play Division III football.
Morgan arrived in Grinnell as a 6'04" 205 pound project. After some debate about where he'd play, (OL or TE), it was decided the offensive line had bigger needs, but maybe he'd move to TE down the road. Towards the end of his first-year, Morgan filled in for injured starter Jake McVeigh '11, seeing significant action in the last three games of the season. With an off-season of hard work, Morgan left campus in May having gained some good weight (up to 240 pounds) and having lost any chance of ever playing tight end. Projected as the starting left tackle, he lost most of his summer due to the cancer diagnosis, but Morgan returned in time to see limited action in the pre-season intersquad scrimmage. He went on to play every offensive snap during both his sophomore and junior seasons.
Morgan now tips the scales at around 270 pounds, and is perhaps quicker than when he started at Grinnell. He has had to fight through several injuries this year, but is putting together his best season yet.
Morgan and the rest of the senior class will lead Grinnell against Carroll this Saturday, on Rosenbloom Field. Kickoff is at 1:00 and you can listen to the game here and watch the live webcast here.
