Christian Morton

Position: Cornerback/return specialist  
College: Illinois
Height: 6-0
Weight: 188
Hometown: St. Louis, Mo.

OVERVIEW

Enigmatic talent who arrived on campus with great fanfare, had a banner freshman campaign as a return specialist, followed by an equally impressive sophomore year as a cornerback … Struggled as a junior and was replaced in the starting lineup midway through that year … Returned to the lineup as a senior, but did not show the flashes of brilliance he displayed earlier in his career … Came to the Illini as a quarterback, switching to the defensive backfield while sitting out the 1999 season due to academic ineligibility … Started 25 of 45 games at weak-side cornerback, recording 120 tackles (95 solos) with an 8-yard sack and two stops for losses of 9 yards … Intercepted five passes for 104 yards in returns with two touchdowns and deflected 41 passes … Only Eugene Wilson (60, 1999-2002) had more pass breakups in a career for the Illini … Also blocked two kicks … Gained 337 yards with a touchdown on 30 punt returns (11.2 avg.) and 671 yards on 35 kickoff returns (19.2 avg.).

ANALYSIS

Positives: Has adequate muscle development with good calves and nimble feet … Keeps a tight relationship with the receiver in the open … Despite his size, is effective jamming the opponent at the line of scrimmage … Keeps himself positioned between the receiver and the ball … Smooth and fluid turning out of his backpedal … Has the burst needed to cover ground … Plays good angles and shows top-end speed … Makes proper body adjustments turning and flexing for the ball … Has the hip snap and body control to position himself low before delivering the hit.

Negatives: His leaping ability is only marginal and certainly not enough to compensate for his lack of size … Plays too deep and conservative in the zone, which makes him late in handling the switch-off … Will extend for the ball in traffic, but his slight frame sees him get bounced around quite a bit in those attempts … Hesitant to throw his body around when asked to step up and fill the rush lanes.

AGILITY TESTS

4.46 in the 40-yard dash … 4.04 20-yard shuttle … 11.23 60-yard shuttle … 6.72 three-cone drill … 31-inch vertical jump … 10-foot-1 broad jump.

HIGH SCHOOL

Attended Riverview Gardens (St. Louis, Mo.) High … USA Today Missouri Player of the Year and named St. Louis Post-Dispatch Player of the Year … Earned all-region, all-metro and all-district honors … Chicago Sun-Times "Top 100" selection … Led Riverview Gardens to the Missouri Class 5A state championship as a senior, throwing for 2,543 yards … Passed for 4,957 yards in his career to set Missouri state prep records for Coach Darren Sunkett … Racked up 40 total touchdowns as a senior, throwing for 26 and running for 14 … Rushed for 746 yards that year to lead Riverview Gardens to 13-1 record … Threw for 211 yards, ran for 153 and accounted for four touchdowns in 41-34 state championship title game victory at the TWA Dome … Threw for 200 or more yards in eight games and ran for 100 or more yards in three games as a senior … Earned six varsity letters, including three in football and three in basketball … Also earned all-conference honors in basketball.

PERSONAL

Graduated in May 2003 with a degree in Speech Communications … Brother, Jeff, played defensive back at Southern Illinois … Son of Craig and Pamela Morton … Born April 28, 1981, in St. Louis, Mo.