J.C. Morgan is in his third season as the offensive coordinator for the Shippensburg University football team. The 2017 season marks Morgan’s 13th overall as a full-time assistant on the Red Raider coaching staff.
On Feb. 13, 2015, Morgan was named SU's offensive coordinator. In his first full season guiding the SU offense, the Red Raiders committed a school-record low of 10 turnovers while ranking third in NCAA Division II in scoring offense (44.1 points per game) and fourth in the PSAC for total offense (458.6 yards per game).
Shippensburg set a school record by eclipsing 60 points in five games, while quarterback Ryan Zapoticky set a single-season school record for quarterback rushing yards (561) and tailback Andrew Smith set a single-season school record for all-purpose yards (1,831).
The 2016 season, Morgan’s second as offensive coordinator, saw the Red Raiders match the previous season’s output in terms of committing just 10 turnovers. SU was the only NCAA Division II team to lose just one fumble for the entire season.
Morgan has established a long-standing reputation of excellence and success for his work with the team’s running backs, a role he maintains as offensive coordinator, and his numerous, integral off-the-field roles – including titles as the team’s recruiting coordinator, video coordinator and academic coordinator. He remains the team’s primary recruiting coordinator.
A key voice on the offensive front, Morgan has played a pivotal role for a team that has broken more than 100 school records over the past four seasons. In 2012, Morgan contributed to a coaching staff that oversaw an SU offense that scored 609 points and 83 touchdowns en route to Division II’s best mark in total offense (529.92 yards per game).
J.C. Morgan with his wife, Melissa, and daughter, Daniella — August 2016
Through 12 seasons coaching the running backs, Shippensburg has had 14 All-PSAC performers at the position – including four consecutive First Team backs from 2007-10. With the inclusion of tailback Mike Frenette being honored as a return specialist in 2011, Morgan has mentored an All-PSAC running back every year he has been with the Red Raiders. Cole Chiappialle was a Second Team running back in 2016.
In May 2012, Morgan traveled to Dallas to participate in the NCAA and NFL Coaches Academy, which provides education to coaches on the various aspects of securing, managing and excelling in their current and future positions. Morgan was one of 30 coaches from the NCAA (in addition to 30 NFL coaches) that attended the three-day program.
Morgan has instructed some of SU’s most productive running backs in history. Blair Brooks ’14 was a two-time All-PSAC performer who totaled 2,602 rushing yards, second-most in school history behind John Kuhn. Brooks ran for 1,171 yards in 2014, fourth in single-season history, and earned the 2013 Most Improved Red Raider after a 908-yard season.
Among the primary contributors to SU’s record-setting 2012 season was Mike Frenette ’12, a two-time Academic All-American who finished the season with 861 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. By catching 56 passes out of the backfield, Frenette set a single-season record for most receptions by an SU back and amassed 598 receiving yards, scoring twice more.
Over the course of 45 career games, Frenette ranks second in school history with 5,118 all-purpose yards. He also holds the school record for the most career receptions by a running back (142). His 2,415 rushing yards rank third in school history while his 1,843 receiving yards slots just outside of the Top 10.
The 2011 season featured a breakout campaign for Frenette, who broke the single-season record for all-purpose yards (1,780) as well as the single-season mark for receptions by a running back (40). He had 913 rushing yards – the most by an SU running back since 2004 – and his average of 160.36 all-purpose yards per game ranked him 15th nationally.
In 2010, Shippensburg had two rushers finish with more than 500 yards on the ground while five different backs totaled at least 175 rushing yards. Among that group is two-time All-PSAC fullback Kevin Herod and all-purpose specialist Kevin Marshall, who graduated after being tabbed as SU’s only All-PSAC First Teamer last season.
The 2009 season featured the running game on full display, as the Red Raiders led the conference with 510 rushes from scrimmage. Shippensburg’s multi-pronged attack of speed and toughness ranked third in the PSAC with 182.2 rushing yards per game and helped SU lead the PSAC in average time of possession (32:40).
Two freshmen backs were integral to the team’s success. Herod, a second-team All-American pick by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette in 2009, rushed for 727 yards – the most individual yards by an SU back since current Green Bay Packer John Kuhn in 2004. In two years, Herod has only had 23 negative rushes through 322 carries.
Frenette quickly took on a starting role in the Shippensburg Wing-T and finished the season with 420 rushing yards, 349 receiving yards and seven total touchdowns. All five of Frenette’s rushing touchdowns in 2009 came in the final four games of the season, including a 74-yard cutback in the NCAA playoffs against Cal.
During Morgan’s tenure as the running backs coach, Shippensburg has always ranked among the top eight teams in the conference in rushing, including third in 2011 and fifth in 2007. In 2007, All-PSAC Western Division First Team fullback Aaron Dykes led the team in rushing for the third straight season, totaling 634 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Prior to Shippensburg, Morgan spent one season as an assistant coach at Moravian College in 2004, also working with the running backs. With the Greyhounds, Morgan worked with Chris Jacoubs who, as a sophomore, averaged 162.6 yards per game rushing, the fifth-highest total in Division III. Jacoubs totaled a school-record 1,789 yards in 11 games with 19 touchdowns.
An accomplished runner himself, Morgan was a fullback at Bucknell University where during the 2001 season, he led the Bison in yards per carry average while tying for the team lead in touchdowns. He also received the Lewisburg Touchdown Award for Offensive Player of the Week and was awarded three varsity letters for his performance.
Morgan received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bucknell in 2004. As a senior at Bucknell, Morgan served as an assistant varsity football coach at Lewisburg High School in addition to serving as an assistant on the basketball team. While in high school, he served as a running backs coach for the M.O.T. Youth Football organization in his hometown.
A native of Middletown, Delaware, Morgan is a member of the American Football Coaches Association and has served on the minority issues committee since 2005. He and his wife Melissa live in Carlisle and are the proud parents of a young daughter, Daniella.
