Anthony Morelli

Infobox NFLactive
name = Anthony Morelli

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width = 250
caption = Anthony Morelli (left) during his tenure at Penn State.
currentteam = Free Agent
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currentposition = Quarterback
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birthdate = birth date and age|1985|6|21
birthplace = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
heightft = 6
heightin = 4
weight = 200
debutyear =
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college = Penn State
undraftedyear = 2008
pastteams =
* Arizona Cardinals (2008)
status =
highlights =
* 2007 Outback Bowl champion
* 2007 Alamo Bowl champion
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Anthony Michael Morelli (born June 21, 1985 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a professional American football quarterback, currently an unsigned rookie in the NFL. As of August 30, Morelli has been cut from the Arizona Cardinals roster. [cite web | url = http://www.azcardinals.com/team/index.php | title = Arizona Cardinals Roster | accessdate = 2008-08-07 | publisher = Arizona Cardinals] Morelli played collegiately for Penn State. At Penn Hills Senior High School in suburban Pittsburgh, he was rated the No. 2 quarterback in the country and was named to the "USA Today" Top 25 Supreme Team, among others.

NFL

Morelli was signed by the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent immediately following the 2008 NFL Draft. In his first professional appearance, Morelli went 2-6 for 13 yards against the New Orleans Saints in Arizona's 2008 preseason opener.

The Cardinals cut Morelli on August 30, 2008, after a lackluster performance in week 4 of the preseason against the Denver Broncos, which included an interception returned for a touchdown.cite web | url = http://www.kffl.com/player/18734/nfl | publisher = KFFL | title = Cardinals, Morelli agrees to terms | accessdate = 2008-04-28 | date = 2008-04-27]

College

Morelli originally committed to the University of Pittsburgh in August 2003, [cite web|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pitt/20030821recruit0821p3.asp|title=www.post-gazette.com/sports/pitt/20030821recruit0821p3.asp ] but de-committed due to Pitt's existing situation with Tyler Palko, along with the recent move of Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College out of the Big East, and chose Penn State instead.

Morelli's junior year at Penn State got off to a good start: He threw a 42-yard touchdown on his first pass as the Nittany Lion's starting quarterback in a 34-16 win over the University of Akron. However, he has struggled since, particularly in a 28-6 loss to rival Ohio State. With the Lions down 14-6, Morelli threw two late interceptions that Ohio State returned for touchdowns, effectively ending any hopes of a comeback and making the game look a lot more lopsided than it was. Morelli finished the game with only 106 yards passing. As a result of this performance, Morelli's play had become a polarizing issue amongst Nittany Lion fans. Some fans wanted to bring in backup Daryll Clark, a redshirt freshman whose style of play resembles that of Morelli's predecessor and former Heisman hopeful, Michael Robinson. Other fans have come to Morelli's defense, pointing out the amount of playing time typically required to develop good quarterbacks. By season's end, Morelli had thrown for 2,424 yards, 11 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He took over third place on Penn State's season passing yardage list, trailing only Kerry Collins (1994) and Tony Sacca (1991). Despite his relatively decent statistics, Morelli expressed frustration over the conservative nature of Penn State's play calling in a November 2006 interview with the "Pittsburgh Tribune-Review". [cite web|url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/college/pennstate/s_480002.html|title=www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/college/pennstate/s_480002.html ] After struggling all season, Morelli was able to redeem himself during the 2007 Outback Bowl against Tennessee, leading the Nittany Lions to an upset victory.

Morelli's senior season began with a dominant victory over rival Notre Dame but quickly lost momentum with ineffectual campaigns at rival Michigan and at Illinois highlighted by his tendency to turn the ball over in critical situations. Morelli struggled against Ohio State and was unable to rally Penn State to victory over Big Ten rival Michigan State in the closing minutes of the game. Overall, Morelli left Penn State with his name in the record books as the only quarterback in Penn State history to pass for more than 2,000 yards in two seasons. [cite web | url = http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_544236.html | title = Media remains critical of Penn State's Morelli | accessdate = 2007-12-24 | author = Ross Jr., Sam | publisher = Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

Controversy

Morelli revealed that he has not spoken with high school coach Neil Gordon since his final game in 2003. He accused Gordon and his staff of sabotaging his college recruitment, spreading rumors about his intelligence and his ability to read defenses. [cite web|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06349/746378-143.stm|title=www.post-gazette.com/pg/06349/746378-143.stm ]

Morelli told the assembled media for the 2007 Outback Bowl that he'd received numerous death threats during the 2006 season. [cite web|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/ncaa/12/15/morelli.deaththreats.ap/index.html|title=sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/ncaa/12/15/morelli.deaththreats.ap/index.html ]

Trivia

As a 10-year-old, Morelli won the National Football League's 1995 Punt, Pass, and Kick competition, throwing a 50-yard pass in front of his hometown crowd at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium. [cite web|url=http://www.gopsusports.com/Football/people/Player.cfm?rosterid=2595|title=www.gopsusports.com/Football/people/Player.cfm?rosterid=2595 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.gopsusports.com/Football/people/Player.cfm?rosterid=2595 Anthony Morelli profile] gopsusports.com