The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1451622
2022 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE 50 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2022 TYLER MORRIS WIDE RECEIVER 6-0 • 175 NAZARETH ACADEMY BOLINGBROOK, ILL. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 155 26 4 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 44 8 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 104 18 4 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 153 24 5 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 179 24 5 STATISTICS Year Rec. Yds. TD 2019 38 1,237 17 2018 22 419 3 HONORS • Part of a Nazareth Academy pro- gram that won a Class 7A state cham- pionship in 2018 and finished as the runner-up in 2019 with consecutive 13-1 records. • Junior season was postponed to spring of 2021, when he tore his ACL, which forced him to miss the fall his senior campaign as well. • Invited to the All-American Bowl as a senior, but was unable to play. • 2019 MaxPreps Sophomore All- American. • 2019 News-Gazette All-State first- team wideout. RECRUITMENT • Pledged to Michigan April 20, 2021, after picking up his offer from the Maize and Blue in April 2019. • Picked U-M over notable offers from Notre Dame, Tennessee, Purdue and Michigan State. • Recruited by former offensive coor- dinator Josh Gattis. DID YOU KNOW? • Is an early enrollee at Michigan. • Played the majority of his career at Nazareth Academy but transferred to graduate from Plainfield East in order to enroll early at Michigan. • Was now-Michigan teammate J.J. McCarthy's go-to receiver his sopho- more year at Nazareth Academy, and had more than 1,700 all-purpose yards and 24 touchdowns that season. • Won the age 15-16 high jump event at the 2018 AAU Junior Olym- pic Games. • Born Nov. 18, 2003. BY EJ HOLLAND Tyler Morris was once considered a no-brainer, top-100 recruit and was one of the most sought-after wide receivers in the country. Morris entered his spring junior campaign at La Grange Park (Ill.) Naz- areth Academy — the state of Illinois postponed the fall 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic — with of- fers from the likes of Arkansas, Florida, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State and Texas. However, the sport of football can sometimes be cruel and the same goes for the recruiting process. While play- ing defensive back in the second half of the regular-season finale against Niles (Ill.) Notre Dame, Morris went up and nabbed an interception. Unfortunately, the play also resulted in a torn ACL. Morris wasted no time figuring things out on the recruiting front. After weigh- ing his options with his parents, he called Michigan and asked if the Wolverines would still accept his commitment. Jim Harbaugh and company re- sponded with an emphatic yes. "I just love the way Michigan was with me throughout the whole process," Morris said. "Even during my freshman year, they were there. They were there throughout my whole injury recovery. They never doubted me. It always felt like a family. I'm excited to officially be a part of the team." The injury occurred in mid-April. Fast forward to now, and Morris is ahead of schedule. He worked hard through- out the 2021 calendar year with Josh Taylor, a personal trainer and owner of Chicagoland-based Xtreme Speed, and Morris was a MaxPreps Sophomore All-American in 2019, when he hauled in 1,237 yards and 17 touchdowns while teaming up with U-M quarterback J.J. McCarthy. PHOTO BY EJ HOLLAND Tyler Morris Is Ready To Put ACL Injury Behind Him And Shine Again consensus