Rookie tight end David Morgan so far living up to billing as blocker

David Morgan is easy to spot, not because of the name on his jersey.

You can't see it, anyway.

Morgan, drafted by the Vikings in the sixth round, hasn't cut his hair since his sophomore year at University of Texas-San Antonio. He keeps it trimmed of course, but Morgan has a good, albeit superstitious, reason for letting the locks flow from his helmet to the top of the numbers on his practice jersey.

"So, I grew it out really long [at first] and then I cut it," Morgan said. "And right when I cut it, I broke my leg. That's what my knee surgery was from."

Morgan then pointed down to his right knee and a roughly three-inch jagged scar.

"I'm like 'I'm not cutting my hair again,'" Morgan said. "Been growing it out ever since."

Through the bulk of a shortened training camp, Morgan has been able to make impressions beyond the hairdo, which shifts into a man bun when his helmet isn't required.

Morgan (6-4, 265) is two inches shorter than starter Kyle Rudolph, but already matches his weight at age 23. He's used that size well through five padded practices, according to head coach Mike Zimmer.

"He's been a solid, steady blocker," Zimmer said. "And that's kind of why we were attracted to him because of his blocking ability. I felt like it was important that we tried to find some more point-of-attack blockers."

Coming from the unheralded Roadrunners, a fledgling college football program, Morgan could earn equally unsung duties as the Vikings' blocking tight end with Rhett Ellison's knee still keeping him from practicing.

Maybe that's just a starting point for Morgan.

"He has little subtleties in his game that help him get open," Zimmer said. "He catches the ball good, especially in traffic.

"I'm a little surprised that he's as nifty as he is in some of the condensed areas."