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Morstead recalls his journey to and through the NFL, family, charity and, of course, Ambush.
By John Butler | Canal Street Chronicles
“Before the play, when we ran it in practice, John Carney would always tell me to kick it at 10% because it’s just such a short kick. In the game, right before I went on the field, he grabbed me and said, ‘You need to kick this at 1%’, because I was so amped. It was just such a stressful moment.” Saints punter Thomas Morstead rehashed the moments leading up to the most unlikely play in Super Bowl history, ‘Ambush’. But while Morstead was just a rookie at the time, his work ethic, demeanor and self-awareness prepared him for that moment long before Sean Payton made the call.
Life of a Saint: Thomas Morstead
Fall, 2000: About 15 miles south of Houston, a young Thomas Morstead walked into Pearland High School as a 5’0”, 90-pound freshman. His focus was not football, but rather academics. And like so many other areas of his life, Morstead attacked the books with an intention to be the best. But as those high school years went on, and he got bigger, he decided to give football a shot. “I only played football my senior year of high school. I thought it would be something fun to do”, Morstead stated.
Morstead had an immediate love for the game. He did not assume he’d earn a roster spot but was willing to put in the work if given the opportunity. It was his years in college at Southern Methodist University that really transformed him from someone testing the waters into someone destined for greatness. The combination of receiving an Engineering scholarship along with the opportunity to play football as a walk-on made SMU a great fit for the Texas native. Morstead shared, “When I went to college, my whole goal was just to hopefully play on Saturdays. I hoped to get a chance to play in a game one day. I always put my best into everything I did, and I loved doing all the aspects it took to be good. I loved the workouts and training. Even in my second year of college, I was more committed academically than I was athletically. Once I started to fill out and continue to get better and better in college is whenever I thought I could make a go of it.”
Full Story - CSC
I thought this was a pretty good read.
