Jamie Morris: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
Relationship with Coach Schembechler |
||
| Line 36: | Line 36: | ||
Morris also holds the record for the longest run in [[Outback Bowl]] history -- a 77-yard run in the 1988 Outback Bowl. [http://www.outbackbowl.com/facts/individual.html] |
Morris also holds the record for the longest run in [[Outback Bowl]] history -- a 77-yard run in the 1988 Outback Bowl. [http://www.outbackbowl.com/facts/individual.html] |
||
===Relationship with Coach Schembechler=== |
|||
Morris played at Michigan under Coach [[Bo Schembechler]]. |
|||
When Morris first arrived at Michigan, Coach Schembechler told Morris (who stood five feet, seven inches) he was too short to play at running back. Schembechler said: "I told Jamie when we recruited him he was too small to be a running back and we wanted him for running back kicks. I did, however, promise him the chance to try to be a running back for us. Good thing I did, isn't it?" |
|||
[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE3D6113CF932A35752C0A961948260] Morris' role as a kick-return specialist role didn't last long. In his third game as a freshman, Schembechler put him in as the starting tailback, and he started at the position for four years. |
|||
When asked years later about Morris' career at Michigan, Schembechler said: "Here's a kid who I thought would be a very fine kick-return specialist, and he ended up becoming the all-time leading ground-gainer in Michigan history. What do you know about that?" Jim Brandstatter, "Tales from Michigan Stadium" (2002 Sport Publishing), p. 18. [http://books.google.com/books?id=nzi35Oau2G0C&pg=PA17&lpg=PA17&dq=%22jamie+morris%22+harbaugh&source=web&ots=7WCWDOPnJX&sig=pz5ZFP08za3IzpuyPMdHp5fjxE0] |
|||
In a November 2007 interview with the [[Ann Arbor News]], Morris recalled: "Once Coach Bo was chastising me, and (assistant coach [[Lloyd Carr]]) pointed out, 'Look at those younger players over there. He's not yelling at them, so he must think something about you.' And that held with me for a long time." [http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews_multimedia/2007/11/jamie_morris_interview.html]. |
|||
Morris also spoke at the memorial service held at [[Michigan Stadium]] after Schembechler's death in November 2007. While the majority of the speeches focused on how Schembechler will be remembered, Morris spoke about the things he will miss in his coach's absence. "I will miss having the conversations with him about the good old days," he said. "Most importantly, I will miss hearing how much love and pride he had for Michigan - the school, the players and the fans." [http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2006/11/22/CampusLife/bo.Will.Always.Be.Here-2506541.shtml] |
|||
===Relationship with Coach Schembechler=== |
===Relationship with Coach Schembechler=== |
||
Revision as of 07:06, 7 December 2007
{{NFL.com player}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.
James Walter Morris (born June 6, 1965 in Southern Pines, North Carolina) was an American football running back in the NFL for the Washington Redskins and in college for the University of Michigan Wolverines. While attending the University of Michigan, he broke the school's all-time records for rushing yards in a season and in a career and for all-purpose yards in a career. He also still holds the all-time NFL record for most rushing attempts in a game with 45.
Early life
Morris is from Ayer, Massachusetts where he excelled in track and field in high school, winning the Massachusetts state title in the 200m as a sophomore.
Morris is the younger brother of former New York Giants running back Joe Morris. Jamie and Joe and two brothers and two sisters grew up in Ayer. Their father, Earl Morris, a former Green Beret master sergeant in Vietnam, was a postmaster in Groton, Massachusetts.[1]
College football at Michigan
Morris played college football at the University of Michigan from 1984 to 1987 and broke the school's all-time rushing records in yards gained in a season (1,703 yards) and a career (4,392 yards). His records were broken 13 years later by Anthony Thomas, but he still ranks third in U-M history in both categories.
In addition to his record 4,392 rushing yards, Morris still holds the school record for all-purpose yards with 6,201. He had 99 receptions for 756 yards and 51 kickoff returns for 1,027 yards. He ranks fourth in U-M history in kickoff return yards.[2]
Morris is also the only player in Michigan history to lead the Wolverines in rushing four years. [2]
In 1987, Morris suffered a knee injury in a game against Florida State. He sat out a game and then came back to play against Ohio State. Morris gained 210 yards against the Buckeyes to help the Wolverines win the game and advance to the Rose Bowl.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
Relationship and feud with Jim Harbaugh
During his playing career at Michigan, Morris played in the backfield with quarterback Jim Harbaugh. In 2004, Morris recalled that one of his worst moments at Michigan was fumbling the ball in the 1984 Michigan State game. Harbaugh tried to recover the fumble and wound up breaking his arm. Morris recalled: "I was the guy who fumbled the ball in 1984 when Harbaugh broke his arm." Harbaugh was out for the season, and without him Michigan went on to their worst season under Schembechler with a 6-6 record. Jim Brandstatter, "Tales from Michigan Stadium" (2002 Sport Publishing), p. 18. [1]
In May 2007, former Michigan quarterback (and current Stanford football coach) Jim Harbaugh made critical comments to the San Francisco Chronicle about Michigan's football program. He was quoted as saying: "Michigan is a good school and I got a good education there, but the athletic department has ways to get borderline guys in and, when they’re in, they steer them to courses in sports communications. They’re adulated when they’re playing, but when they get out, the people who adulated them won’t hire them." [3]
Morris played in the backfield with Harbaugh at Michigan and told the Detroit News that, as a result of the comments: "We've dissolved our friendship." Morris, who works in the U-M athletic development department, talked to Harbaugh about his comments. Morris descirbed the exchange as follows:
Morris: "Jim, here's my question for you — do you really believe the comments you said, or are you saying them to make you look good?"
Harbaugh: "I believe them."
Morris: "Would you have said it if Bo (Schembechler)was alive?"
Harbaugh: "That's not the point."
Morris: "That's exactly the point. You didn't hurt Michigan, you hurt your coach, and you hurt the guys you played with. These are the teammates you turned your back on."
At that point, Morris says the discussion became heated, and Morris told Harbaugh: "We're not friends anymore. You lose my number, I lose yours." [2] [3]
Morris also criticized Harbaugh in a radio interview in August 2007, saying: "These comments were geared at Bo. If Bo was alive today he’d of got on a plane and whooped Jimmy’s butt. Because that’s not true…what he said about Michigan. ... If you’re man enough to say those comments, you should have said it when Bo was alive. ... (Harbaugh) used to have a contact here at the Athletic Dept., but obviously he doesn’t anymore.” [4]
Stung by Morris' public criticism, Harbaugh told ESPN in August 2007: "I'm not going to allow those comments to define who I am. Mike Hart and Jamie Morris are not the makers of the Michigan man list. I put in the blood, sweat and tears to prove I belong on that list." [5]
U-M's career rushing record
| Rank | Name | Attempts | Net Yds | Yds/Att | Touchdowns | Long | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Hart | 983 | 4911 | 5.0 | 39 | 64 | 2004 | 2007 |
| 2 | Anthony Thomas | 924 | 4472 | 4.8 | 55 | 80 | 1997 | 2000 |
| 3 | Jamie Morris | 806 | 4392 | 5.5 | 25 | 68 | 1984 | 1987 |
| 4 | Tyrone Wheatley | 688 | 4178 | 6.1 | 47 | 88 | 1991 | 1994 |
| 5 | Butch Woolfolk | 717 | 3850 | 5.4 | 29 | 92 | 1978 | 1981 |
U-M's single-season rushing record
| Rank | Name | Attempts | Net Yds | Yds/Att | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Biakabutuka | 303 | 1818 | 6.0 | 1995 |
| 2 | Anthony Thomas | 319 | 1733 | 5.4 | 2000 |
| 3 | Jamie Morris | 282 | 1703 | 6.0 | 1987 |
| 4 | Chris Perry | 338 | 1674 | 5.0 | 2003 |
| 5 | Mike Hart | 318 | 1562 | 4.9 | 2006 |
U-M's career kickoff return yards record
| Rank | Name | Returns | Yards | Long | Begin | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Breaston | 81 | 1993 | 95 | 2003 | 2006 |
| 2 | Anthony Carter | 63 | 1606 | 67 | 1979 | 1982 |
| 3 | Desmond Howard | 45 | 1211 | 95 | 1989 | 1991 |
| 4 | Jamie Morris | 51 | 1027 | 80 | 1984 | 1987 |
| 5 | Mercury Hayes | 53 | 999 | 47 | 1992 | 1995 |
NFL career
Despite setting Michigan's all-time rushing recods, Morris' small size (5 feet, 7 inches) led to his not being selected until the fourth round of the 1988 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He played three seasons from 1988-1990. His best year was 1988 when he played in all 16 games for the Redskins, rushed for 437 yards in 126 attempts. Morris also set the NFL record for the most rushing attempts in a game with 45, in a December 17, 1988 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Redskins' web site describes Morris' record-setting performance as follows: "On the morning of Dec. 17, the Redskins had a 7-8 record coming into the season finale at Cincinnati. ... With no hope of returning to the playoffs, the Redskins gave Morris what amounted to an audition for the starting job in 1989. With only 81 carries and 285 yards for the season, the 5-7, 195-pound running back was ready for the challenge. Not only did he carry the ball a record number of times, he gained 152 yards, didn't fumble, and had the Redskins on the brink of victory in a game in which not many experts gave them a chance." [6]
Life after football
As of 2006, Morris was working for the University of Michigan Athletic Department as a Development Manager where he was responsible for helping the school's campaign to raise $100 million by 2008. Morris also hosted the 2005 U of M Football Bust put on by the U of M Club of Greater Detroit. [7]
Notes
- ^ White, Gordon S. (1987-01-01). "Rose Bowl: Added incentive for one Morris". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "Jamie Morris: All-Purpose yardage leader". Those Who Stay Will Be Champions. 2006-07-17.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help); Text "http://thosewhostaywillbechampions.blogspot.com/2006/07/jamie-morris-all-purpose-yardage.html" ignored (help) - ^ Dickey, Glenn (2007-05-04). "Harbaugh has enough to resurrect Cardinal". San Francisco Examiner.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c "Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page". Regents of the University of Michigan. 2003. Retrieved 2007-12-06.