WELLINGTON – We all know by now that Morgan Suarez is a proven winner.
The best kicker/punter in Palm Beach County won the Lou Groza Placekicker of the Year honor this past December. And then he went on to help National score an easy 33-5 win over American in the Palm Beach County All-Star Game in the same month.
Less than three months later, Suarez thoroughly went over his college options. He had at least three offers from FAU, Eastern Illinois, and St. Thomas.
On March 4, the 5-foot-9, 170-pound kicker ended his recruiting process. He went with FAU.
“I loved the fact that it’s basically home,” the 5-star Kohl’s kicker said. “It’s a 45-minute drive from my house and it’s Division 1 football. A great selling point that I bought on was the famous ‘1.7 miles from the beach.’ But just the brand new facilities, the coaches, just everything is so nice and brand new. It’s a fresh start and I have the opportunity to walk in there and be the man Day 1 on field goals.”
Suarez spoke of his unofficial visit to FAU, which took place earlier last month.
“I just loved it,” Suarez said. “I only got to see the sports facility and the stadium. But that’s all I needed to see to know that it was the place for me. I just loved how much thought they put into the program when building the whole new facility. It’s laid out in a much nicer way than a lot of big-time Power 5 schools. In due time, FAU will be too.”
At this time, Suarez has been doing his very best to stay in top shape. Due to the coronavirus pandemic that we’re currently experiencing, creativity must take place.
Suarez discussed a little bit on what he’s been doing to keep himself up.
“I have been doing as much as I can,” Suarez said. “I work out everyday, stretch everyday, and I try and hop on a field at least two times a week to get some kicking in. Not much for me has changed besides the locations.”
Before he officially moves on from Wellington High School to FAU, Suarez will have a graduation ceremony sometime next month. But unlike previous classes, he and all of his fellow 2020 classmates will have to have it in a virtual setting.
The decision to close all schools in Florida for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year was made by Gov. Ron DeSantis this past Saturday (April 18). It was made to keep everyone safe in this time, something that Suarez will likely appreciate in hindsight.
“Of course I wanted to finish my senior year the way it should be done with an actual designated last day of school and walking across the stage at graduation,” said Suarez, who ended his senior year as Palm Beach County’s No. 1-ranked specialist and No. 48 overall player. “But the reason it can’t happen is much bigger than just us 2020 seniors, and I’ve taken notice of that. I’m just happy high school is basically over for me and that I will be starting my college career soon, hopefully.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Gene Nardi
