Miami football top 10 scariest defensive players of all time

6. Dan Morgan, LB, 1997-2000

Morgan was always around the ball. In four seasons at Miami, Morgan set the career tackle record with 532. Morgan owns the third most tackles in a season with 150 in 1998, as well as the seventh most with 138 in 2000. Morgan and safety Ed Reed formed one of the greatest tandems in Miami football history.

After enrolling as a fullback, Morgan was switched to weakside linebacker a week before the start of his freshman season in 1997. Morgan was a part of the Miami football program when the Hurricanes were coming off probation and returning to national prominence in the late 1990s through his senior season in 2000.

Morgan led the Miami defense in 2000 as they posted 15.8 PPG, which ranked seventh of 116 teams nationally. Following the 2000 season, Morgan earned the Dick Butkus Award, Bronko  Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, and Jack Lambert Trophy while being named a Unanimous All-American and Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

Retroactively, Morgan was scary because he was the first player to earn the three major national awards for defensive players. Morgan showed his toughness as a sophomore when he earned second-team All-Big East despite playing with a broken thumb. Morgan was first-team All-Big East in his other three seasons.