National Football League

With Chiefs rookie OL Morse, the word tough doesn't even do him justice

Published May. 12, 2015 4:28 p.m. ET

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Josh Henson can't remember if the kid was a true freshman or a redshirt, but he remembers this:

Mitch Morse looked like dog crap.

Oh, not his play. Dude was owning people. A punch here, a slide step there, giving his man hell, taking two-a-days at 100 miles per hour. But the young Missouri Tigers blocker seemed to be getting skinnier with each passing morning, and came off the field gray and slumped, staggering as if he had just walked off the most hellacious roller coaster known to man.

Henson, Mizzou's co-offensive line coach, pulled him aside.

"Man, are you OK?" Henson asked.

He looked closer. The eyes were turning gray, too.

"I'm fine," Morse replied. "I'm fine."

Next day, same effort, same guts, same strength. Followed by the same gray, the same skinny, the same slump.

And the same questions from Henson.

"I'm fine," Morse replied. "I'm fine."

Morse is a strong lineman and a good fella. He's a crummy liar.

"The guy goes in (for a checkup) and he's got mono," Henson recalled. "He's out there, (suffering), and won't say a word to anybody.

"The guy's just tough."

Good thing. Because the Kansas City Chiefs are holding their rookie minicamp on Saturday, and Morse, the 6-foot-5 Texan, a second-round selection with pick No. 49 in the 2015 NFL Draft, is walking into a tough, tough, tough, tough crowd:

As that legendary philosopher Bruce Willis once said: Welcome to the party, pal.

"I'm just excited to see him get an opportunity," Henson told FOXSportsKansasCity.com this week. "Because he's a guy that I always felt was undervalued. He was a better player than people kind of gave him credit for."

In Columbia, Justin Britt was the sleeping giant; Max Copeland, the philosopher in Hell's Angels' clothing; Evan Boehm, the glue. But Morse was the George Harrison of those great Mizzou offensive lines of recent vintage, the quiet Beatle with the big heart.

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"I just watch film, (and) these other guys that everybody would talk about and they'd say, 'This guy is good,'" Henson continued, "and I'd sit there and go, 'Mitch is just as good a player as that guy.'"

Still, he gets the reservations in some circles of social media. He doesn't disagree with them, but he gets them. The Chiefs have an immediate opening at center, and Morse's best collegiate position was tackle. In 2012, Morse even started seven games as the Tigers' snapper, moving to right tackle when injuries turned Mizzou's offensive line into a deck of cards, constantly reshuffling combinations.

Yes, his delivery was inconsistent, and if the first thing you notice out of a center is his snaps, he might be on notice to switch to another position.

"But I really think, more than anything, I don't think it was a thing where, 'OK, Mitch can't snap,'" Henson explained. "I think he was young, and it was his first time playing center in a big game."

When Morse moved outside and former Lee's Summit standout Boehm settled in at center, the Tigers took off and rarely looked back. But Henson says that was about getting the best combination on the field at the same time, not necessarily an indictment of the big Texan as an interior blocker.

"We didn't move Mitch because we didn't think he was playing well at center," his former coach said. "We moved him because we had a need at tackle."

The Chiefs don't -- at least not at the moment, not on paper. But because Morse has experience and comfort at all three positions, it gives coach Andy Reid a skeleton key to play with, if injuries/ineffectiveness/suspensions/alien abductions play havoc with the pocket over the spring and summer again. Other than Ben Grubbs at left guard and probably Eric Fisher at left tackle, every other spot in front of Alex Smith is potentially up for grabs, and Morse is another strong pair of hands in the mix.

"If I have to move back to that position (center), I'll be just fine," Morse said shortly after he was picked. "I learned a lot from the 2012 season. I have game-time experience a center, if that's what the Chiefs want me to play. I feel confident going forward I can be an asset to the Chiefs, if need be, at center."

Or, for that matter, any place else. The scouts were down on Morse's arm length (32 1/2 inches) as a pro tackle, where reach is almost half the game. But the other half is footwork, and the former Tiger is practically Fred Astaire in cleats.

"His arm length wasn't what they want for an edge (blocker), but I promise you, his feet are," Henson said. "His feet are as good as you'll find. Great feet. Great feet."

Morse received the third-best pass-blocking grade of any SEC left tackle last fall by ProFootballFocus.com's new College Football Focus page, and led all linemen at the NFL Scouting Combine three months ago in 225-pound bench-press reps (36), the 20-yard shuttle (4.5 seconds) and the broad jump (112 inches). He can play in a phone booth and, more important, can play out in space -- a must for an offense that desires an effective screen game. The Chiefs need linemen who can move and punch on the move; as a blocker, Morse is easy to pull and hard to push around.

"I know that maybe he's not the exact measurements (for a tackle), but I know he can do it," Henson said. "To me, that's what makes Mitch such a value, too -- not only does he have the athleticism to play on the outside, (but) the mental capacity to be able to play multiple positions and the power to be able to play inside, too. I think, from that standpoint, the kid can basically play anywhere."

On the field and off, he gets it. Morse is a thoughtful, well-read, outdoors type, ideal company for fishing or a game of Pictionary. At Mizzou, he volunteered with the Special Olympics. Before each game, he writes the name of his little brother, Robbie, on the tape that covers his wrists. A reminder. Perspective. Robbie suffered a severe brain trauma while in the care of a babysitter at the age of four months, an incident that left him with physical and intellectual disabilities for the rest of his life. Mitch was 4 when the accident happened, and grew up as his little brother's keeper.

"If my daughter came home with that guy, I'd say, 'You hit a home run,'" Henson said. "A grand slam out of the park."

Tough? Please. Tough doesn't even do him justice.

You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter at @SeanKeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com.

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