The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2023 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS ❱ Sitting Down With Sophomore Receiver Tyler Morris Michigan sophomore Tyler Morris has turned heads this spring for his play at slot receiver. The Illinois native played a bit as a freshman, catching 3 passes for 25 yards, but seems primed for a bigger role this fall. We caught up with him in late March for this Q&A: The Wolverine: You came in last spring after suffering a knee injury in high school — how much further along are you than last year at this time, and how is spring going? Tyler Morris: "I feel like it's going good. For me, it's just a lot more com- fortable. Last year, freshman year, you're trying to figure everything out, [getting to] know the offense. You don't really know how the program works completely. I was still trying to come back from my knee [injury] a little bit. "This year, I felt just more comfortable, used to things, knowing how it goes. Not as much trying to figure everything out." The Wolverine: What's it mean to you to hear so many of your teammates talk about you and list you as a "breakout candidate?" Morris: "It feels good to be noticed like that. For me, I'm kind of just prov- ing it to myself. That's kind of where I expect myself to be, so it was nice seeing other people start to see me that way. "I'm just looking forward to this year to go through it." The Wolverine: You're wearing former receiver Ronnie Bell's No. 8 now. How much did you learn from him last year? Morris: "I looked at him a lot, just being an older guy. That's what I'm hop- ing to do — step into the role he had last year and try to take what I learned from him and apply it to my game. "I have no issue with blocking. That's just part of the game. You can't be a receiver and only expect to catch, score touchdowns, all that. Especially at our school … we have great backs. We're going to run the ball, so you'd better be able to block. I feel like it's a mindset, being physical and not being scared to go hit somebody." The Wolverine: What was one of the biggest things you learned in your first season of college football? Morris: "Just how fast it goes. Just putting plays in, everything is moving fast. You've got to figure everything out. "It's a different situation in high school. You don't think about that. You're just playing football. There's just a lot more thinking and details that go into it." The Wolverine: You committed to Michigan after the 2-4 season in 2020. Why, and has it met your expectations? Morris: "They didn't have the best season, but the next year was when everyone started to flip their mindset and decide what they wanted it to be. "I'm grateful I came in at the time I did. I feel like this is right where I want to be — not just winning but as far as how everybody thinks about the game, how everybody works in the weight room … everybody's mindset." — Chris Balas Morris played in eight games and caught 3 passes for 25 yards as a rookie in 2022, but could see much more action this fall. PHOTO BY DOMINICK SOKOTOFF Michigan football attracts tremendous crowds at The Big House, which has a nation-leading capacity of 107,601, and U-M is one of the top television draws among all college foot- ball teams, as well. Michigan had 70.1 million TV viewers dur- ing the 2022 regular season, which ranked second nationally behind only Ohio State (70.3 million). It's no surprise that the Wolverines' Nov. 26 clash at Ohio State, a 45-22 U-M win, drew an average of 17.14 million view- ers — the most of any regular-season contest last season. Per Sports Media Watch, that was the largest audience for any college football game, excluding bowls and conference cham- pionships, since the prime-time No. 1 vs. No. 2 Alabama-LSU game on CBS in 2011 (20 million). The Michigan-Ohio State game peaked at 19.6 million viewers, the most-watched meet- ing between the two rivals since the 2006 clash (21 million). Viewership increased by 3 percent from the 2021 rendition of "The Game." Alabama (62.2 million viewers), Georgia (53.8 million), LSU (50.4 million), Notre Dame (39.8 million), Penn State (36.6 million), TCU (36.3 million), Texas (34.8 million) and Clemson (34.8 million) rounded out the top 10 for the regular season. The two College Football semifinal tilts on New Year's Eve were the most-watched games of the campaign, with the Georgia-Ohio State Peach Bowl leading the way at 22.45 mil- lion viewers and the Michigan-TCU Fiesta Bowl checking in second at 21.70 million. Michigan had eight regular-season games ranked top-five in viewership for a given week, with all but one conference tilt fitting the bill. The Wolverines' Big Ten title game win over Purdue averaged 10.70 million viewers, second among games that week. Here's a look at Michigan's most-watched games of the 2022 season: Opponent Date Viewers Ranking That Week TCU Dec. 31 21.70 million 2nd* Ohio State Nov. 26 17.14 million 1st Purdue Dec. 3 10.70 million 2nd Penn State Oct. 15 6.45 million 2nd Michigan State Oct. 29 5.58 million 3rd Illinois Nov. 19 5.47 million 2nd Maryland Sept. 24 4.38 million 3rd Iowa Oct. 1 4.20 million 3rd Indiana Oct. 8 4.01 million 4th Nebraska Nov. 12 3.88 million 3rd *Among all bowl games — Clayton Sayfie Michigan Football A Television Darling Again