‘Moving Forward’ – Healthy Morris Seeks Breakout Season
By Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Receiver Tyler Morris is back and the video shows the possibilities.
It comes from Indiana’s second and final scrimmage before the Sept. 5 season opener against North Texas. Quarterback Josh Hoover throws a down-the-field dart to Morris, a former Michigan transfer, who beats the coverage, makes the catch and sprints to the end zone.
This is a big moment because, for months, sprinting wasn’t an option. A knee injury cost the 5-foot-11, 186-pound Morris all of last season, requiring surgery and lots of rehabilitation.
That’s behind him now. He’s poised to become a key contributor for what could be another dominating Hoosier passing attack.
“I want to improve on everything -- routes, catching, blocking, everything,” he says. “I want to be an all-around receiver. I want to show different parts of my game.”
In 34 games at Michigan over three seasons, Morris totaled 39 catches for 470 yards and three touchdowns.
He projects as a slot receiver, a role held by Omar Cooper Jr. last season. Cooper Jr. did it well enough -- team-leading totals of 69 catches for 937 yards, plus 13 touchdowns -- to become a first-round pick for the NFL’s New York Jets.
“When we’d watch film,” Morris says, “I’d focus on Coop because that was my position. I’d talk to him about what coverages he’s seeing and what he’s thinking with coverages and certain concepts. What he’s expecting.
“I definitely tried to latch on to that and try to take some of those things from his game and bring it to mine.”
Morris says the recovery was challenging, but not unfamiliar. He’d had a similar injury as a high school senior.
“It was tough, kind of just after getting here and being hurt so fast. I had done it before in high school, so I knew, I've done it before, I can do it again.
“In my mind, I was preparing for this year. Everything I did as far as recovery and working out and trying to learn the offense and all that. I just wanted to be as prepared for this year as I could.”
Rehab included plenty of stationary receiving work with the jugs machine.
“I did a lot of that in since I wasn’t able to run routes with the guys,” Morris says. “Even after practice, with a lot of people getting on the jugs, I tried to make sure I was in that rotation.”
Morris says it took about nine months before he could resume running routes and other drills. He used that time for more than just physical work.
“I used it to learn the offense. It can be a little difficult at times that first year and not understanding the offense and learning something new.
“I was able to talk to guys like Elijah (Sarratt), E.J. (Williams Jr.), and Coop. I saw how they’d see things. I could see how the game week went without having the pressure of having to make sure I'm getting it right. That made things easier for me.
“This year, I’m able to go into it and understand the flow of everything.”
That flow included leadership, even without playing, with promising younger receivers such as Davion Chandler and Lebron Bond.
“Not being out there in practice and games,” Morris says, “I still wanted to be involved in some way. The way I saw it was to try to talk to the younger guys. The older guys understood how it goes, but talking to the freshmen and trying to build a relationship with them and the guys I knew would be around this year. I wanted to talk to them and tell them how I see things. Get them ready for next year because I knew they’d be the guys I’d be playing with.”
That impressed veteran receiver Charlie Becker.
“He was always trying to coach us up when he saw stuff going wrong. He did everything he could do to get back on the field.
“I’m excited to see what he can do this season.”
Morris has worked on building a rapport with Hoover, a transfer from TCU who also is learning a new offense while developing timing and chemistry with his receivers.
“I think we have a good relationship,” Morris says. “Every day being in here talking with the quarterbacks. They sit right across from (the receivers).
“It’s always just normal conversations in the locker room. On the field, we’re talking to each other, letting each other know what we’re seeing. I’ll let him know if I was open on a concept and to know I’m there. He’s telling me how he expects me to run things.
“Our relationship has grown since he’s been here. I’m excited to see it grow moving forward.”
So is head coach Curt Cignetti.
“Knees are tough.," Cignetti says. "They take a while. It’s a process. He was a little tentative in the spring, but he’s starting to gain confidence. He’s a smart guy who can learn a lot of positions.”
Morris is positioned to be the main punt returner. He did some of that at Michigan, returning 14 punts for 126 yards.
“A punt return is one of those things where your back there by yourself and you understand that you need to make the play and you need to catch the ball first,” he says. “It's fun understanding that the ball's coming to you, and you get an opportunity to make a play.”
Morris is part of a promising receiving corps led by Becker and Michigan State transfer Nick Marsh.
“Nick Marsh and Charlie Becker are two long guys with a good track record,” Cignetti says. “Now, it’s developing No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 in that receiver room.”
The second scrimmage is part of that development. It’s not a public event and the Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium stands are empty. The video offers snap shots of what’s coming. One highlight is Hoover’s deep touchdown pass to Marsh, who beats heralded cornerback Jamari Sharpe. Yes, THAT Jamari Sharpe, of national championship-clinching interception against Miami fame. He has been IU’s best cornerback in fall camp.
The play suggests how good Marsh and the offense could be; others indicate the defense should once again rate among the nation’s best, and that the Hoosiers, the defending national champs ranked No. 6 in major preseason polls, are fully focused on this season and not past glory.
“We did a good job of shutting out the noise,” veteran defensive lineman Mario Landino says. “Last year won’t affect this year.”