Minnesota senior quarterback Tanner Morgan has not been ruled out for Saturday’s game against Penn State.
Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said on Monday that Morgan woke up feeling better on Sunday and his availability will be determined by medical personnel over the course of the week.
“Tanner is doing very well,” Fleck said. “Woke up on Sunday morning and surprisingly felt really good, which is great. He was evaluated at the medical center right after the game, which I know all of you saw. He was cleared by the medical teams and the medical staffs where he was at to be able to fly home with the team.”
Morgan was hit with a closed fist to the side of the helmet by Illinois freshman linebacker Gabe Jacas while running for a first down early in the fourth quarter of the Golden Gophers’ 26-14 loss at Illinois.
Before leaving the game with what was termed “an upper-body injury,” Morgan had run for a 9-yard touchdown in the second quarter and was 4-of-12 passing for 21 yards and an interception.
Fleck added that Morgan will be at practice on Tuesday but he’s unsure if the sixth-year senior will participate.
“That stuff is out of my hands,” Fleck said. “I just know that he appreciates all the prayers, thoughts, support and text messages from everybody. I know we do, as well, as a team. Again, surprisingly woke up, felt really good. But he’s in our medical care, under that umbrella right now. He’s doing very well.”
Redshirt freshman Athan Kaliakmanis took over for Morgan and finished the game against the Fighting Illini.
“In terms of the quarterback situation, we have other quarterbacks that can play if [Morgan] isn’t able to go,” Fleck said. “But that’s not necessarily just ruled out yet. But I’m not the one in charge of all those decisions. That’s our medical team, and I know that he’s in very, very good care and he’s doing very well.”
On the year, Morgan has thrown for 1,164 yards and seven touchdowns with five interceptions, and he’s the winningest quarterback in program history (31 victories).
The Golden Gophers (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) visit No. 16 Penn State (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC).
