University of Pennsylvania
professors. did.
Faverage. ing in the first round of the playoffs. and a strong work ethic. ence was the sixth man on the team. accepted to one of four schools: could perhaps go on to junior college or a small college but certainly not a big time program. Academically speaking, colleges weren’t banging on bis doors either. So what do you do: Accept your fate and do the best you can at a pretty good institution.
Nick chose a different route. Nick’s best friend went to Cornell which exposed him to thinking about schools in the East. He had another friend who went to a prep school in counts. He’s good enough to start both ways. ical qualities and a great work ethi He also runs well. Nick has got the whole package.
Nick brings a leadership element to our program and he does it with maturity and intensity. When he does something, it’s full speed. If anything, sometimes we have to calm him down. the New England area. “As a result,”
Nick remembered, “I made the best decision of my life.” Nick went to Northfield Mount Herman, a prep Head Football Coach University of Pennsylvania ne: the efÏcient management of people and resources. from 17 major areas of concentration and is ranked third among top American business schools. It the top school in finance, real estate, entrepreneurship and finance/risk management Nick receives the opportunity of a work experience in his major. sat on the Equity Trading Desk in New York City for three different firms. He bas worked on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange.
Right and finish out his senior year of eligi- The new 5,000-square-foot weight room facility was completed in August of 1993 at a cost of more than a half million dollars. The size and amount of equipment allows all 60 Penn football players to be completely trained together in one hour. “We've got the best weight room in the Ivy League,” beamed Nick. Rob Wagner is the full time strength coach. “Coach Wagner has done a tremendous job,” offered Nick. “He is an awesome role model. Coach Wagner has squatted 800 pounds in the 181-pound class. You can’t control what your opponents do but you can control your own bility in the fall of next year. Nick cation.
181-pound class. ometrics and box jumps.”
Are you starting to get the idea that Nick is in more than just a pretty management is the key.” strength during the season,” student-faculty ratio is seven-to-one. being planned.” receive financial assistance.
Nick Morris is not a unique athlete when you look at the testing results of our starting defense. Seven starters Squat over 500 pounds, six starters Power Clean over 300 and Bench Press over 350 pounds. What does make Nick unique is that he is a member of this group and he plays in the secondary. Nick has done an outstanding job of setting realistic goals and then achieving them. As a freshman he Squatted 365 pounds, Power Cleaned 230 and Benched 320 pounds. By his junior year he had moved these maxes to 500, 315 and 375 pounds respectively and all those lifts were done for singles.
This himself and he believes that singles are the best indicator of what an individual is capable of in the weight room. Nick strong mental approach to his training and his consistency in the weight room and on the track have given him a sub 4.7 40- yard time and a 34-inch Vertical Jump. He is also a strong believer in our philosophy that lifting technique is the primary concern and not the amount of weight lifted. I feel that the combination of Nick’s belief in our training system and his own mental toughness has made him a unique asset here at Penn. Robert Wagner: Penn Strength Coach ed surgery. also comes to some.”
Field and was originally opened in 1895 at a cost of $100,000. The field has been the site of the nation’s first scoreboard (1895), the first twotiered stadium (1922), first football radio broadcast (1922) and the first football telecast in 1939. The stadium has been newly refurbished and now holds 60,546 people. Pennsylvania was unquestionably the Ivy League’s team of the decade in the 1980,s but may be headed for even greater heights in the 1990's. Heading this surge of success is head coach Al Bagnoli who has the fourthbest winning percentage (82.4 percent) among all active collegiate coaches.
Quakers to a perfect 10-0 season and brought Penn its eighth Ivy championship and a #16 final season national ranking. The Ivy League schools are Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Princeton, Pennsylvania and Yale. Ivy League rules state that everyone must play freshman football. There is no such thing as redshirting like other schools. Nick was the team co-MVP as QB of his freshman team. He threw 67 times and completed 34 for 451 yards and four scores. He also carried the ball 39 times for 220 yards.
The following year, as a sophomore, Nick tore some ligaments on We thank Nick for sharing his Upper Limit perspectives. Nick’s frustrating,” recalled Nick. cessful and still was not right the next finally settled that he was going to try out and he had an outstanding year.
American for the Quakers. feeling.” into fantastic.
Nick believes that dedication is the key to being successful. “You have really got to want it. The FLASH UPDATE At this writing, Nick has 32 total weights will give you an advantage. areas. I’ve never been into partying.
You just stay away from alcohol. Don’t let yourself or your team down. I’ve never experienced drugs and I’ve never seen steroids. It’s just not part of my world. None of my friends do it. It’s nothing but bad. I know there are times when people are going out. If you go out and you have classes or meetings the next day - - well, maybe you shouldn’t. You have to make good choices. My teammates and I don’t mess around too much. It just takes one weak link. If you do something negative you’ ll let your team down.” Nick has also learned a proper life perspective as to what is really important in life. “Money is definitely not it. I’ve learned how great friendship really is.
My best friend is ona 17 game winning streak. This years record stands at 5-0.
From BFS Magazine — Winter 1994. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
