On short notice, Pitt's Jimmy Morrissey shows off love for football at the Senior Bowl

Jimmy Morrissey had just finished his morning workout in Pensacola Beach, Fla., when his phone rang.

Morrissey’s agent, Jason Bernstein, was calling with some good news. Bernstein patched Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy into the call, and, all of a sudden, Morrissey’s weekend plans changed.

He was going to the Senior Bowl.

All respect to @Pitt_FB Jimmy Morrissey. American OL took injury hits yesterday so called Jimmy around noon and he made hour drive from Pensacola to Mobile. Got a crash course on the offense late last night and played OC and both OG spots in today’s @seniorbowl. Dude is a stud!

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) January 30, 2021

January 30th, 2016 @HamlinIsland @RashadWeaver and myself took a visit to Pitt (@P_jones9 must’ve been on a different one). 5 years later January 30th, 2021 we played in the Senior Bowl. It has been an amazing ride with some amazing people, excited to see what happens next. #H2P pic.twitter.com/fodqntXBRl

— Jimmy Morrissey (@jimbo_slice123) January 31, 2021

The call came at 11:30 Friday morning, 25 hours before the game. Do you think that mattered to Morrissey, who came to Pitt as a walk on and left as an All-ACC center?

“Within 15 minutes, I was in the car,” Morrissey said. “I had to shower and I was (in Mobile, Ala., 60 miles away) in an hour and a half.”

Morrissey was told he was “right on the border” to getting an earlier invitation to the Senior Bowl, but to be ready in case he was needed.

“They told me I was the next interior O lineman to get invited,” he said.

Damar Hamlin with the INT ?#SeniorBowl pic.twitter.com/snIIRRopiK

— NCAAF Nation (@NCAAFNation247) January 30, 2021

So, he did what he always does — he prepared for anything.

“I’ve been studying my Pitt offense just to make sure,” he said. “If I was going to be in meetings with (NFL) scouts, I wanted to be sharp. I wanted to be on the game with my offense.

“But once Thursday hit, I lost hope. ‘There’s no shot I’m going to this. I have to learn the playbook by tomorrow,’ ” he told himself.

But when the Senior Bowl’s American squad was hit by injuries on the offensive line, Morrissey got the call.

When he arrived in Mobile, he had to wait three hours for a covid-19 test. He had one earlier in the week, but it was beyond the 48-hour window. Finally, he received his playbook from Carolina Panthers offensive line coaches Pat Meyer and Tony Sparano Jr., who were assigned to the American squad.

There was a dinner that night, but Morrissey knew better than to waste time eating at a table in a formal setting. All that mattered was his playbook.

“I got a to-go dinner plate and went up to my room. I hadn’t eaten all day,” he said. “I studied for three hours, got some sleep, woke up (Saturday morning), went down to Mass, got my ankles taped, ate breakfast and went and played ball.”

He played center and both guard positions for one quarter each. He was at left guard for the first time in his life. His collegiate experience at right guard was limited to the Boston College game last season.

Morrissey was one of four Pitt players at the Senior Bowl — safety Damar Hamlin and pass rushers Rashad Weaver and Patrick Jones II were already there.

Along with former Pitt teammates Paris Ford and Jaylen Twyman, Morrissey has received an invitation to the NFL Combine, which will be held on college campuses this year. Three months before the draft, he is considered a mid-round selection.

During the Senior Bowl, Morrissey was matched against Weaver, but — ever the loyal teammate — he was reluctant to admit that he kept the All-ACC defensive end off the quarterback. But, overall, Weaver did end up with a half-sack and a quarterback hurry.

The Senior Bowl was Morrissey’s first game since Pitt’s finale Dec. 10 at Georgia Tech. Three days later, he was in Pensacola Beach, starting his six-day-a-week training regimen at the Exos Athlete Performance Institute.

“Friday morning (after the Georgia Tech game),” he said, “I packed my apartment up, had dinner with (Pitt teammate) Jake Zilinskas, said goodbye to the boys and Saturday I drove home to Philly, dropped all my stuff off at my house and flew down to Pensacola on Sunday.”

He took off two weeks for Christmas, but he’ll be there until Pitt’s Pro Day on March 17.

Did he ever consider taking a break after the season? (Actually, anyone who knows Morrissey well wouldn’t ask that question.)

“I’ve been a guy where I need to do something,” he said. “If I’m not doing something, I’d feel lazy.

“Even if I had taken a rest after that game, what if there’s one more center out there who’s in the draft class with me who’s working today? Or, what if there’s that D-tackle who I’m going to face off against next season who’s working today? I always have that in the back of my mind.”

A month ago, Morrissey won the Burlsworth Trophy as the best player in the nation who started out as a non-scholarship walk on. Asked to reflect on his unusual journey, he said, “I’m happy I believed in myself.”

“Every kid who plays football dreams to be in this situation,” he said. “My hard work and my love for the game, combined with my coaches’ and other mentors’ guidance, has gotten me to where I am today.

“I love playing football. I’m a football player. When you have the passion for the game, and I have a pretty good drive, too, I never want to be complacent with my skill.

“When you love what you do and you wake up and you work hard every day at it, it’s hard to fail.”

After spending two seasons as a Pitt co-captain, Morrissey is ready to turn the page on his career.

“I was working to help win a championship at Pitt football. But now I’m working to, hopefully, help a team win a Super Bowl next season.

“I couldn’t imagine doing anything else in my life.”

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Patrick Jones II (@p_jones9) beats the over set back inside with the counter club/arm over. Gets the sack! #SeniorBowl #PassRush #H2P #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/87TWF9G5ZH

— DLineVids (@dlinevids1) January 31, 2021