As the Broncos head toward training camp, DenverBroncos.com is taking a detailed look at several members of this year's rookie class. And aside from Denver's coaching staff, who better to call than their college coaches? These players honed their techniques while at school,
and their coaches know better than most what to expect from these rookies.
The series continues with second-round pick Courtland Sutton's college coach, Chad Morris.
Aric DiLalla: Could you begin by giving me a scouting report on Courtland's game?
Chad Morris: Big, tall, physical. He uses his body really well. Going up, he has a great ability to torque his body in different directions. ... He's got deceiving speed. Just a big physical receiver.
AD: What was it like coaching Courtland?
CM: Watching his development over time, this was a kid that just kept getting better and better and better. I think that the best is yet to come for Courtland. He played wide receiver in high school, but he was recruited as a safety. We got [to SMU] and moved him to receiver, and he's learning the game and just a student of the game. He's just a phenomenal leader.
AD: His one-handed catches have stood out to everybody as the calling card of his game, what is it about him that allows him to do that, and is there anything he can do at this point that would surprise you?
CM: No. Watching his success over the next several years, I think you're going to see this young man become an All-Pro. He's got the work ethic and the drive to be the best that he can be. I think you're going to see the matchups that they're going to be able to create with him. We would put him in the backfield and motion him out. He's extremely intelligent. Him transitioning to the college game to the NFL game, learning the speed of the game and the technique of the game — it's going to be interesting to watch him grow. ... You're going to see the best of this young man.
AD: Were you surprised to see him slip to the second round in the draft, and do you think he's already showing that he could be a steal for Denver?
CM: Absolutely. I was very shocked that he slid that far. We shared with him and told him, "Just keep taking notes. Take notes on all those that passed on you. You've got a lot to prove. Just keep being the best Courtland Sutton you can be." It doesn't surprise me the success he [had] in minicamp. He's going to learn and continue to grow in the offense and learn the terminology. That's going to be different. But his work ethic and his drive and his ability to study the game will help carry him forward.
AD: He's also seemed in the time we've interacted like an all-world person. I'm wondering, off the field, what you saw from Courtland.
CM: He is that. And people kept saying, "There has to be a flaw? What is his flaw?" And they kept coming and [we said], "There is not one. He does not have an off-the-field flaw. Whoever drafts him, he's going to be a great face for the program, a great face for the city, a great face for the organization." He's just that type of guy. What you see is what you get. And when you meet his mom and his dad, you understand that.
AD: Is he right up there with the best receivers you've been able to coach?
CM: People ask me all the time — and everybody that I've coached is a little bit different — but they ask me, who do I compare him to? And he's very similar in contorting his body [to] a DeAndre Hopkins. That similarity of him and DeAndre are so close. I know those are big shoes to fill, but that's who he reminds me of at that age when we had DeAndre.
