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Lawrence Johnson

Football Stephen-Michael Thompson - MSU Athletic Communications

DJ Golatt’s Late Season Breakout Shows Bright Future for MSU

BALTIMORE, Md. -- Football is unpredictable. It's always been that way but it has its trends of predictability.

A long winning streak, a stretch of dominance, and even knowing that a win is coming even before the game has started. On a player's level, coming into games expecting to leave the same way physically. Or even predicting their role in the team dynamic. 

But when the unpredictable strikes someone has to step up and the predictable is not a consideration. 

Walking into the Florida A&M game, quarterback DJ Golatt Jr. was not the starter. After the end of the contest in Tallahassee, he assumed that role. 

But before this opportunity, DJ had to work. The quarterback worked hard at the Annapolis Area Christian School in HS. He transferred to Riverdale Baptist his senior season and amazed everyone. His dominance was predictable and opponents knew it was coming.

Making a splash was an expectation for Golatt when he committed to Morgan State in 2016, but he faced some setbacks. He was redshirted that season. Coming into this season, he was the backup and only attempted 11 passes in six games. On paper, his role was predictable but as DeAndre Harris was sidelined due to injury, DJ's name was called. 

At that moment, Golatt played well. He went 15 for 22 with 148 passing yards. In his full start, DJ threw three touchdowns and with a solid 257 yards passing. That start turned into a shootout with the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. As the rushing game took over the next week against Delaware State, Golatt did what he had to during a defensive struggle. The start against Delaware State was his first win as a starter. It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win. 

The following week, DJ went off and truly showed why he's considered a duel threat. He accumulated 168 passing yards and 156 rushing yards against the Spartans. NSU's defense was given nightmares as DJ accounted for four touchdowns on the day (3 passing, 1 rushing). His efforts led him to be named STATS FCS National Freshman of the Week and the MEAC Rookie of the Week. DJ's four TD performance was one TD away from matching T.J Stallings school record 5 touchdown mark for the most TD's in a game. 

The four-game run by DJ Golatt surely proved that he's ready for the unpredictable. He accumulated over 1000 yards of total offense in a short stretch. As I mentioned earlier, football has its stretches of predictability. On paper, a team going to their backup QB in the middle of the season isn't a good sign. 

DJ flipped the script and led the Bears with fierceness. Under his starts, Morgan State ended the season on a winning streak for the first time since 2002. As the Bears continue to build, expect Mr.Golatt to be apart of those plans.
 
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Players Mentioned

DJ Golatt

#16 DJ Golatt

QB
6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman
DeAndre Harris

#6 DeAndre Harris

QB
6' 4"
Junior

Players Mentioned

DJ Golatt

#16 DJ Golatt

6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman
QB
DeAndre Harris

#6 DeAndre Harris

6' 4"
Junior
QB