As Colin Morris recalls his son’s athletic exploits on the fields of North Miami, many of the memories are pleasant. On the other hand, some of them are quite painful.
“I’m telling you, the happiest day of my life was when he hit high school,” Morris said. “He finally had kids he could throw to. I was breaking my fingers trying to catch his passes.”
The kid with the rifle arm, now 21, is ready for his final game in a Miami Hurricanes uniform, and Saturday’s Russell Athletic Bowl against Louisville is important for Stephen Morris on several fronts.
It is his chance to finish his up-and-down senior season on a high note. He can lift Miami (9-3, 5-3 ACC) to a 10-win season for the first time in a decade. He can also prove his readiness for the NFL by outdueling Miami native Teddy Bridgewater, whom many analysts believe is the top draft-eligible quarterback prospect.
“Stephen being healthy and executing the way he is right now is what’s important,” UM coach Al Golden said Monday. “After that, the rest will take care of itself. It’s just great to see him out there the last five practices at 100 percent. We haven’t seen that since Florida.”
That game was Sept. 7. In UM’s next game, against FCS opponent Savannah State, Morris suffered a badly bruised right ankle and Achilles’ tendon, which shook up what could have been a stellar senior season.
Morris, considered by many experts to be one of the nation’s top incoming senior quarterbacks, did not miss a start, but his play was inconsistent. Unable to plant off his back foot and drive the ball, Morris struggled completing short and intermediate passes. He had little movement in the pocket and his decision-making suffered.
Morris has completed 58.7 percent of his passes for 2,868 yards and 21 touchdowns this season, but he has also thrown 12 interceptions. He had a zero-TD, four-interception performance in an Oct. 17 win at North Carolina. He admitted the injury was messing with his head.
After watching Morris’ performance on tape, Louisville wasn’t overly effusive in its praise.
Cardinals coach Charlie Strong said the quarterback is effective because he’s surrounded by “really good players. The thing he does is a great job of just managing the offense.” He went on to compliment Morris’ offensive line and his receiving corps.
Morris also suffered a high ankle sprain last Oct. 13 against North Carolina, and he started just five games in his first two seasons. Despite that, he has a solid place in UM’s record book.
He is on track to finish in third place in passing yards (he has 7,736 going into the bowl game), touchdowns (49) and completions (539) and fourth in attempts (928). He needs 132 yards to become the second Hurricanes quarterback to compile two 3,000-yard seasons. He is one of four Canes QBs in the 7,000-yard club (Ken Dorsey, Jacory Harris and Gino Torretta are the others).
He also owns ACC single-game records of 566 passing yards and five TD passes, recorded last year against N.C. State, and UM’s single-season record for total offensive yards (3,415).
“He looks back on his career with a lot of pride,” Colin Morris said. “He realized that even when it was challenging — like having three different offensive coordinators — he realized that gave him a lot of opportunity. He picked up two different schemes from NFL offensive coordinators in (Mark) Whipple and (Jedd) Fisch, and now stuff from (James) Coley, who’s a great guy.”
Several NFL draft analysts agreed this is an important game for Morris, who accepted an invitation to the Jan. 18 Senior Bowl, to prove he’s worthy of a mid-round spot in the draft. Golden believes he can help any NFL team.
“It comes down to speed at the next level,” Golden said. “The windows close quickly. You need range and velocity on the ball. He has that, and he can see it quickly.”
Morris was a sophomore when he and his teammates were blindsided by the Nevin Shapiro scandal, but he decided not to run from an uncertain future. That’s why going out with a win would be all the more satisfying for him and 25 other seniors.
“When I was a freshman, I felt like I was going to be here forever,” said Morris, who bears a tattoo on his throwing arm with the Hurricanes’ logo and his No. 17. “But you know, time moves fast and that clock doesn’t stop for anybody.
“It’s a blessing that I made it all here, all four years, and I stuck through everything that was going on. It’s just a great feeling to still be a Cane.”
Waters seen on crutches: Hurricanes sophomore Herb Waters, who ranks third on the team in receiving yards, was seen on crutches after Tuesday's practice at the Citrus Bowl, his right knee in a light brace. Golden did not speak to the media Tuesday, but a team spokesman said Waters did not practice Monday or Tuesday. His status, clearly, is in question for Saturday's game.
