CFB: Shane Morris' long road back
Shane Morris was one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks coming out of high school, marked as a five-star prospect by Scout, and given a quality 84 rating by ESPN. Morris was first recruited by Cincinnati, and then later by MAC schools like Bowling Green and Toledo, but most knew that he was going to go to the University of Michigan if they chose to offer a scholarship. And they did. On March 28, 2011, Michigan offered him, and less than two months later, he committed. He was the first high school player to commit to the Wolverines for the 2013 class and was the first to actually sign on Signing Day, February 7, 2013.
Morris was dubbed the savior of Michigan, following Denard Robinson's departure to the NFL, and the fact that the Wolverines were just 34-29 in the five years prior, a far cry from the 46-17 that they experienced over the five years before that - Morris was supposed to lead Michigan back to the promised land. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to live up to that level of expectations. He made his first appearance as a true freshman against Central Michigan (more on them later), and completed 4-6 passes for 59 yards. He made a brief appearance versus Michigan State, but only completed one pass for six yards.
He didn't truly get his shot until the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl against Kansas State, after it was announced that starting quarterback, Devin Gardner, wouldn't be able to go because of a toe injury. Morris played okay, nothing too spectacular, but wasn't a complete mess, either. His final statline read 24-38 for 196 yards. There was hope for Michigan fans that Morris could improve over the offseason, and lead the team back to relevancy, at the very least. Once again, that didn't go as planned, beginning in 2014 against Minnesota. The Wolverines began the year 2-2 and head coach Brady Hoke decided to start Morris, giving a sliver of hope for his future.
Morris started September 27, 2014, against the Golden Gophers, and the 16-point loss was the least of Michigan's worries. Morris went down with a head injury mid-game, and instead of being evaluated on the sideline, he was reinserted and continued playing with no sign of a concussion protocol. The Wolverines slipped to 2-3, and three days later, athletic director Dave Brandon, announced that Morris played with a concussion. Protests called for Brandon and Hoke's jobs and at season's end, Michigan was an embarrassing 5-7. Hoke was let go in favor of former Michigan quarterback, Jim Harbaugh, who began the 2015 campaign.
Morris was originally expected to be the starting quarterback, but when Iowa-transfer, Jake Rudock arrived on campus, there was an immediate controversy. After months of speculation, Rudock started Week 1 against Utah, and Morris was knocked down a peg to the back-up slot. But his downslide continued even further as in Week 2, when Michigan defeated Oregon State, Wilton Speight was subbed in down the stretch, instead of Morris. And then when Rudock went down with a minor injury on the road against Minnesota, Speight was inserted and ended up leading the game-winning drive, winning the Little Brown Jug.
Harbaugh's first year ended with a successful 10-3 record, and Morris didn't see one second of the field, meaning he could take his redshirt year, giving him another season of eligibility. But in 2016, he didn't start either. However, he did see some action in Week 1 against Hawaii, completing all four of his throws. But being a second (or third) string quarterback wasn't the idea Morris had when he verbally committed and subsequently signed with the Wolverines nearly five years before. As whispers began about his potential transfer out of the program, he remained on the sideline until after the year. Michigan went 10-3 again.
On January 21, 2017, Morris made it known that he was going to finish his one year with Central Michigan, where he would likely start immediately. In Week 1, Morris played fairly well, throwing for a career-high 226 yards on 25 completions and leading his team to a triple-overtime victory. But in Week 2, he shined more than ever. On the road against Kansas, Morris topped his career-high with a stellar performance, hitting 75.7 percent of his passes for 467 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. It was not only good enough to get a 45-27 upset win, but also earned him MAC West Player of the Week.
But a career of ups-and-downs of course had to go back down at some point, and that was from Week 3-5, when the Chippewas suffered three consecutive losses, and Morris completed just 48.7 percent for 214.3 yards per game and a porous 3-7 touchdown-interception ratio. The Chips were outscored 100-39 in said games. But since then, Central Michigan and Morris have rebounded extremely well, and are 4-1 since, sitting at 6-4 overall, and are eligible for a bowl game. He's totaled 1,028 yards in the five games for 12 touchdowns and three picks, including zero turnovers in his last three games - all victories.
Week 11 against rival, Eastern Michigan, he completed 61.1 percent of his throws for 155 yards and three scores in a 42-30 win. Morris' senior season has been the best of his career, by far, which began more turbulent than most athletes, with everything that he endured while at Michigan. It seems that Morris has moved past everything that happened in Ann Arbor, and is content playing out the remainder of his eligibility with Central Michigan. He'll finish his final regular season with matches against Kent State and then Northern Illinois, on senior night, before playing the last game of his extended career in a bowl game.
It's not the five-year stint that Morris imagined when he was a highly touted high school senior, or when he was proclaimed the future of Michigan football before he even stepped foot in the Big House, but he's proved that he has strong character and clearly loves the game enough to continue competing at this level, no matter the team or conference. According to USA Today, the Chippewas could find themselves in the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College, but other spots such as the Bahamas Bowl and Quick Lane Bowl are possible destinations, too. No matter where they end up, it will be the final chapter of a long and interesting road for Shane Morris.
Photo Credit: CBS Sports.
