Ferentz on Morris

Among Iowa's 20 recruits, James Morris is arguably the best equipped to walk onto the University of Iowa campus and be ready for all of this. And I mean all of this -- academics, off the field and in the game.

Morris, who did it all at Solon High School, has grown up on the inside of the Iowa program. His stepdad, Greg, is the Hawkeyes' equipment manager. James has gone to every camp, every whatever Iowa has had to offer. He's been to practices. He's had a front-row seat for the off-field that rocked the program in 2006-07.

He committed to play for Iowa after his sophomore season in 2007. In speaking to him, the attitude is "It's about time to get this going, isn't it?"

Links -- Excellent story from the Press-Citizen's Pat Harty. . . . Here's a story from the Register's Rob Gray on Morris and wrestling. . . . Here's the story from an interview I had with Morris before signing day. He gives some good insight here on how the process works.

Bio -- From UI sports info: High school honors - - Gatorade Player of the Year in Iowa as a junior and senior . . . three time first team all-state, including elite team selecton as a senior . . . three-time all-district selection . . named district offensive MVP as a sophomore, junior and senior . . . Career - - helped prep team win 41 straight games and three consecutive Class 2A state titles as linebacker and running back . . . high school team went undefeated from sophomore to senior season . . . team posted 11-2 record during freshman year, reaching state championship game . . . also played quarterback during portions of senior season, passing for 500 yards and seven touchdowns . . . team captain as a senior . . . ranks among top 10 in state of Iowa for career rushing yards, touchdowns and points scored . . . rushed for 2,247 yards and scored 40 touchdowns as a senior . . . gained 6,646 career rushing yards . . . collected 276 career tackles and four interceptions . . . holds school records for single season and career for total yards and scoring . . . set school record for touchdowns in a single game . . . rushed for 2,100 yards and 38 touchdowns as a junior . . . rushed for 1,900 yards and scored 32 touchdowns as a sophomore . . . also lettered four times in wrestling and track.

Personal - - Born 11/20/91 . . . open major . . . member of National Honor Society and posted a 3.95 prep GPA . . . parents are Lynn and Greg Morris . . . high school coach was Kevin Miller.

Ferentz on -- I asked Ferentz if there was any risk in offering a sophomore a scholarship. And yes, I know, there wasn't, but I wanted to hear what he had to say on the subject. Sometimes, you do that: "First of all, there's risk anytime you offer. But I think we felt pretty confident. James had been in our camp. He's been in this building. We've known him a long time. I've known the Morris family basically since 1981. Greg worked here and Tim was a student manager for us.

"So, I've known the family a long time. Certainly James, being in our camp, I think as much as anything, and just being around our coaching staff, he's a real mature young man. He's got his head on straight. We thought he was an excellent football player, but also just the other attributes.

"And I think he goes home, everything is kept in check. His ego is kept in check. He does a wonderful job with that. We felt pretty good about it. We were excited about everything we knew about him. I think after he came to camp, we saw how he competed with the older players, that really impressed us. So we thought the risk was minimal. And I think we've seen nothing but improvement from him on the field. And we're awfully excited about his potential with us.

"Carl Jackson, who is now retired, still won't go in our staff room, but he did pass through the other day. He was telling me yesterday he thinks he could be a running back for us. That kind of versatility is a good thing. I certainly value Carl's opinions. But I know we need help on defense right now and down the road.

Could Morris see the field next year, with sort of a goofy LB depth chart? "It is. We've got a lot of seniors in the group right now. I think ideally, with a couple of our linebackers, couple of our defensive linemen and possibly a couple of defensive backs, I say I'm hopeful they're not starters. If they're starters, hopefully it's because they're beating out some good players.

"There aren't too many guys we're counting on to save our team next year. But they're really going to be important in our future. And we'll have the discussion down the road possibly about are you going to be a special teams guy, a back-up guy, get your feet wet, and then we're going to have a lot of vacancies a year from now. I know that. So I think he'll be in the thick of things. I think maybe all four of the linebackers we signed will have that opportunity."

Projection is fun -- I think Morris might have a decision to make. First, he has to have a successful fall camp. Does that mean he has to beat out Tarpinian? No. But he has to show capacity for Big Ten football, and I think he will.

If camp goes well, it's on to the decision. Will depth play (mop up) and special teams be worth it to Morris to burn a redshirt? From the answers he gave in the interview I had with him, I think he would. He's very much a team-first guy. Whatever helps Iowa, he'll do. For next fall, that probably means playing. Not make or break, but it'll help.