UTC wide receiver Bingo Morton (5) breaks between teammate Xavier Borishade (12) and Presbyterian defensive back Rock Ya-Sin (18) during the Mocs' home football game against Presbyterian at Finley Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.Bingo Morton is by all accounts a really good kid. A really likable one.
Yet during his freshman season last year at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, he had some growing up to do. He liked to talk a lot at practice, so coach Russ Huesman put the 6-foot-2, 210-pound receiver on a "no talk rule" during practice.
The growth curve also extended to his on-field play. At one point in the 2016 preseason, Morton was getting mainly third-team repetitions for the Mocs and had some maturing to do to live up to his immense skill set, as he is easily one of the team's top talents at receiver.
Huesman said the issue early on with Morton was that he "didn't know how to prepare."
"Bingo just says, 'I'm Bingo. Throw me the rock,'" Huesman said. "It doesn't work that way.
"He's starting to realize the effort he's put into it to be a great one. Athletically he's lights out, a really good player, but he's coming around."
As the 2016 season rolls on, Morton seems to have found a place.
The sophomore played key roles in each of the last two games, catching a big third-down slant pass against The Citadel on Oct. 15 and then getting his first college score on a 21-yard catch and run last Saturday against Virginia Military Institute. That was the game's first touchdown in a 30-13 win.
"Bingo is coming along," Huesman said. "He has a lot of ability. We came into the season knowing that Bingo can play, no question about that. He has all the talent in the world. Hopefully these games have really helped him with his confidence."
Morton always has had confidence in his ability. He's just had to wait behind quality senior receivers such as C.J. Board and Xavier Borishade, but with the offense tailored to pass a little more Saturday against the Keydets, he knew he was going to get his opportunity and took advantage of that.
"Bingo has come a long, long way," said defensive back Trevor Wright, who was in the same recruiting class as Morton. "Now he's starting to get into the offense and make all the catches that I knew he could make. It was huge seeing him in the offense and getting his first touchdown this week.
"Bingo is a good player - a very, very emotional player. Everybody on the team likes the way he plays and likes the way he acts around the team."
Which it seems is a much more mature way than may have been the case in the past.
Mocs add two
The Mocs added a pair of commitments to their 2017 signing class this week in offensive lineman John Robinson and defensive back Jordan Ferguson.
Robinson, a 6-foot-3, 291-pounder from Cleburne County in Heflin, Ala., was a Class 4A all-state player in 2015. He chose the Mocs over an offer from Jacksonville State and interest from Southern Mississippi and Troy.
Ferguson, a 6-3, 195-pound safety at Knoxvillel Bearden, chose the Mocs over offers from Dartmouth, Furman, Tennessee Tech and Yale.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.