The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/111015
football recruiting issue end Khalid Hill echoed the sentiment when he pledge to Michigan in February. As a member of Morris��� Maximum Exposure seven-on-seven team, Hill already knew the quarterback well, and as soon as Michigan offered, the signal-caller knew he���d do his part to reel in a talented passcatching target. ���We have a big bond,��� Hill said. ���Shane knows my strengths, I know his strengths. I know he needs me. We help each other out on the field. We���ve been together [on a team] for a little over a year now. It���s a great fit for us.��� Morris��� efforts on the recruiting trail were sometimes in vain ��� he couldn���t lure childhood friend Birmingham (Mich.) Brother Rice linebacker Jon Reschke to commit to Michigan over Michigan State, his father���s alma mater ��� but more often than not he succeeded. That���s a big part of why Michigan���s class of 27 finished No. 5 in Rivals.com���s team rankings. Although Morris as recruiter isn���t the primary factor (most of the credit goes, of course, to the Michigan coaching staff), he helped forge bonds with some top recruits. The next phase for the talented passer will be focusing on the field, and helping turn what is one of the best assemblages of talent in recent U-M history into results in The Big House and, hopefully, the Big Ten Championship Game. Morris has the raw skills to be a highly successful quarterback at the college level. Players don���t receive all the accolades that he has, nor the rankings Morris has received, without potential. He needs to hone the gift that comes along with his powerful left arm and become a polished, poised Wolverine ��� one who hopes to win big while in Ann Arbor. Despite his physical tools, Morris has struggled at times during his career as a quarterback. In four years of high school ball, he was barely better than a 50-percent passer (51.1 percent), and alternated amazing touchdown tosses with passes thrown directly to opposing defensive backs ��� many of which were intercepted. Tearing down what he already has and putting it back together will be the challenge for U-M���s offensive brain trust. ���With Shane, we���re going to build him from the ground up,��� Michigan offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Al Borges said. ���We���re going to assume he doesn���t know anything about the position, and the more he knows, the faster he���ll learn. He really is as close to a prototype as regards to our offense as we���re going to get.��� Standing 6-3, 183 pounds (and heavier when healthy) is certainly one part of that equation. Borges needs a quarterback who can see over the line and make reads in the passing game. That cannon attached to his left shoulder is another important piece. What may come as a surprise to fans is that Borges may have liked Morris��� athleticism more than anything. ���We wanted a passer/runner, a kid that could throw the ball first, but