Carroll Academy football Coach Bo Milton said quarterback Morgan Mims was his closer last year.
After pounding big fullback Jeb Beck at opposing defenses last year, Milton would often turn to Mims when he needed a big play or to find the end zone.
Mims ended up with 869 yards rushing on 97 carries and scored nine touchdowns while passing for 618 yards on 25-of-81 passes for 10 touchdowns. Mims is the latest addition to The Winona Times/The Conservative 11 To Watch for 2019. Already named to the list are An’Darius Coffey, Blake Cooper, and Anthony Richardson of Winona; Deriaun Townsend and Cory Clay of J.Z. George; and Thomas Costilow and Hayden Self of Winona Christian.
Mims enters his senior year as one of the more experience players in the MAIS. Mims actually played some as an eighth grader and got some varsity action as a ninth grader as well. He started at slot receiver as a sophomore before Milton moved him to quarterback.
“He has played in a lot of football games,” Milton said. “He actually played some as an eighth grader so he has been around forever. He practiced with us as an eighth grader and we used him as an onside kicker. Actually, he’s one of the best at it that I have ever seen. We probably get it 75 percent of the time when he onside kicks. He started at quarterback for us midway through his sophomore season so he has 16-17 starts at quarterback.”
Last year, he rushed for a season-high 179 yards on 14 carries against Marshall and had 178 yards on 11 carries against Oak Hill. His best passing game was a 4-for-4 effort against Lee Academy in which he threw for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
Milton said he saw Mims get better and better as the season went on. Mims ended the season as an all-conference selection as a quarterback and was an all-state selection for the Rebels.
“I saw a lot of growth last year,” Milton said. “As a sophomore, he was playing a lot on instinct. I thought he got a lot better at the passing game last year. He didn’t throw a lot of interceptions and didn’t try to force the ball as much. He’s really a dual-threat quarterback. He threw for more than 600 yards last year and ran for almost 900 yards and accounted for almost 20 touchdowns. I think he will be even better this season.”
Milton thinks that experience will pay off for Mims and the Rebels this season.
“I always think that experience makes you better,” Milton said. “He doesn’t get rattled and handles me chewing on him. I have high expectations for any quarterback and he meets those expectations. I think he will be the main cog of our offense. We have some good players around him so he doesn’t have to make every play.”
While the Rebels are primarily a running team, Milton said Mims is a big-play threat.
“He is a guy that could make big plays for us,” Milton said. “He had some really long runs.
“We will still be in the double wing and do the things that we did last year. We will roll out and do play action and put Morgan on the perimeter where he can use his running ability.”
Mims, who is 6-foot and weighs 185 pounds, also plays defense for the Rebels where he recorded 50 tackles last year.
“He is a really versatile player for us on defense,” Milton said. “He will play strong safety but may even play corner so we can keep him away from the pounding. But he’s a strong kid, he could come down and play outside linebacker or even walk down in the box. He’s one of the strongest kids on the team, pound for pound. For a skill guy, he’s really strong.”
