Plum native Matt Morgan has been involved in organized football for more than half his life.

He rose to stardom in high school as a standout offensive and defensive lineman with the Mustang varsity football team.

Morgan moved on to the University of Pittsburgh and helped anchor the offensive line as a four-year starter.

He then spent three seasons in the National Football League playing for the St. Louis Rams and the Buffalo Bills.

After a year away from the game, Morgan returned to the gridiron in the summer of 2008.

This time it was on the other side of the whistle as an assistant coach.

This fall, he begins a new journey as an assistant lineman coach at Gateway.

Morgan said he's loving every minute of his chance to make a difference in the lives of the players he coaches, both on and off the field.

"(Coaching) is my way of giving back to the game that gave me a lot," said Morgan, who has worked the past three years as a commercial sales representative for east-suburban based G&G Fitness.

"This is the best way for a guy like me who can't play anymore to give back."

He joins a Gateway staff that is glad to have him.

"Matt has been a tremendous addition to our staff," Gator head coach Terry Smith said. 

"He has great presence. His track record, playing at Pitt, playing locally at Plum and playing in the NFL, he brings instant credibility to the position. Our guys up front have been sponges for the things he has taught them. He will bring an intensity to the guys up front. Our guys will be tougher and better for it."

After spending a year away from the game of football after his release by the Buffalo Bills, which included recovery from surgery for injured hips, Morgan spoke with Penn Hills athletic director John Peterman about coaching with the Indians football program.

"It was tough to sit out that year (2007)," he said.

Morgan joined the Penn Hills staff and coached there in 2008 and last year.

He knew he was going to face his alma mater each year, and, he said, the emotions ran high.

"It was weird being over at Penn Hills, being a 100 percent die hard Plum guy," Morgan said. "But it was a good experience for me."

The emotions were ramped up last year against Plum at Plum High School Stadium when he looked across the field and saw his older brother, Tony, on the Mustang sidelines.

Last fall's game between Plum and Penn Hills was tied 7-7 at halftime. However, the Indians pulled away in the second half for a 28-7 victory.

"We were jabbing at each other from across the field," Morgan said.

The elder Morgan brother, who also played football at Plum and graduated in 1998, one year before Matt, joined new Plum varsity coach Frank Sacco on his staff in 2009.

Sacco was the defensive coordinator under legendary Mustang head coach Bill Rometo when Morgan was in high school.

"Coach Sacco is a great guy," Morgan said. "He helped me out tremendously when I was at Plum. He's going to do a good job over there."

Plum is looking to build on a 3-6 record in 2009, which included a trip to the WPIAL playoffs after a 2-3 finish in the Quad East.

Matt Morgan played on the offensive and defensive lines for Plum and was a starter his junior and seniors seasons.

He helped the Mustangs finish 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the Quad East as a junior in 1997.

Plum went 3-7 in 1998, but one of those wins came against Gateway (20-14).

He was an All-Quad East Conference selection and an Associated Press second-team big school (Quad-A and AAA) all-state selection his senior year.

Just a month after his high school graduation, Morgan played in the 1999 Big 33 Classic. 

The game included several of his future Pitt teammates, including Rod Rutherford, Lousaka Polite, William "TuTu" Ferguson and Robb-Davon Butler.

"That was a great experience for me," Morgan said.

He was recruited by several Division I programs from the Big East to the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference, and finally chose his hometown Pittsburgh Panthers.

After taking a redshirt in the fall of 1999, Morgan earned a starting spot on the Panthers' offensive line in 2000.

He never left the starting lineup. He played through pain and injury, including his entire redshirt sophomore season with an injured right hip and a cast on an injured hand.

The injury bug stayed with him as a redshirt junior, but he was injury free as a senior.

During his time at Pitt, the Panthers went to four straight bowl games and finished with a 2-2 record in those contests.

Morgan was signed as an undrafted free agent by St. Louis in 2004. He spent the 2004 season on the practice squad.

He was active for the second half of the 2005 season. He played in one game that year, at  Minnesota in the Metrodome.

Unfortunately, the Rams lost that game, 27-13.

"That was intense," Morgan said. "I was playing left tackle and was going up against their best pass rusher. I was graded high, so I did pretty well against him."

During his time with the Rams, Morgan learned from one of the all-time best in All-Pro tackle Orlando Pace.

"I was backing up a hall of famer , so I wasn't going to see the field much," he said.

Morgan also got to work in the offseason with Rams legend Jackie Slater, who played offensive tackle for the organization from 1976 to 1994 in Los Angeles and one year with the franchise when it moved to St. Louis in 1995.

When head coach Mike Martz was let go by the Rams after the 2005 season, Rams' offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild went to Buffalo to become the Bills offensive coordinator.

Morgan, knowing the Fairchild offensive system well, also went to Buffalo, looking for a new start.

However, Morgan was cut by the Bills after a preseason game against Carolina.

"I couldn't move well. Something isn't right. I knew the feeling in my hips already," Morgan said. "I had on the left hip the same thing I had on the right. 

"A week went by, and finally, I was told to go get my surgeries. All of a sudden, I see that I'm cut. I flipped out on my agent, but he told me they couldn't cut me because I was hurt.

"It was a tough situation all around."