Zach Morrison was named Shorter University’s third head coach in December of 2017. Now entering his sixth season as head coach, he is excited about what the program is building, continuing with the phrase, “Brick by Brick.” Morrison commented, “The program is established on relationships. Relationships with each other, the coaches, the community and most importantly with Jesus Christ. We will continue to work to better our program and grow 1% every day. We must win the day and compete in everything we do.”
Morrison came to Shorter after working at the high school level throughout the state of Georgia for over 9 years. Morrison is a Georgia native, playing four sports at Forsyth Central High School in Cumming, while earning All-Region honors in football for three straight seasons. From there, he went on to play at the Shorter University.
At Shorter, Morrison played center on the Hawks' inaugural football team from 2005-2008. Morrison started every game in his career at Shorter and was named an All-Conference player from this sophomore through senior season. As a junior and senior, he was named to the NAIA All-American team. He was also an Academic All-American his senior season. He helped lead the Hawks offense to lead the nation in rushing yards his senior season as the Hawks won the Conference Championship. During the four years Morrison played, the Hawks went 25-18, with one trip to the playoffs.
In addition to his playing duties, Morrison served on the Leadership Board, helping create the Hawks Covenant that all Shorter Football student-athletes would follow during the 2008 season. He was also a recipient of the Allison Ledbetter Award in 2008 for being the student-athlete of the year at Shorter University. Morrison graduated from Shorter with a degree in history and political science in December 2008.
"It is an honor, a privilege, and a humbling opportunity that I have been preparing for since I was a player," said Coach Morrison. "My experience here at Shorter helped shape me into the man I am today. I had an amazing experience at SU as a player and the opportunity to give back to the university that has done so much for me is an amazing occasion. I look forward to working with SU faculty and staff every single day. This is the best small college in America to me!”
"I have a ton of passion, energy, and commitment to SU," said Morrison. "I look to continue to build a team of players that have pride, class, and character in all they do. We will focus on the student-athlete and becoming better people and good representatives for SU. Being able to share my faith and having the opportunity to instill Christian morals and values to build our team around Biblical principles will help us be successful in every phase of life."
During his time with the Hawks, Morrison coached multiple All-Gulf South selections as well as the school’s 3
rd career two-time All-American (Kyle Morlock). Throughout the past few seasons, the Hawks offense set multiple school records. Shorter finished 24
th overall in the NCAA in passing touchdowns, 1
st in fewest turnovers in the NCAA. The defense finished 4
th overall in total defense in the GSC during the 2022 season. Coach Morrison believes that the 2023 season will be the best yet. The Hawks return 7 starters on offense and 6 starters on defense for the 2023 season, but Coach Morrison is excited about the daily competition that will spur more success in the program. Morrison ended with, “The players are buying into the culture we are establishing here, and everyone on campus has taken notice from our academics, to our strength and conditioning and lastly to our on the field performance.” We are HawkNation!
