Name: Tyler Morris
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: La Grange Park (IL) Nazareth Academy
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #8
Last year: I ranked Morris #29 and said he would be a part-time starting wide receiver with 20 catches for 240 yards and 2 touchdowns (LINK). He caught 13 passes for 197 yards and 1 touchdown, and he returned 9 punts for 88 yards.
TTB Rating: 83
Morris was often on the field in 2023 but a lot of Michigan fans probably didn’t notice him much. Would you believe he only played 26 fewer snaps (344) than Donovan Edwards (370)? Morris was #14 on the team in offensive snaps, ahead of Myles Hinton, Max Bredeson, and Semaj Morgan. But with Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, and Colston Loveland eating up passing targets, Morris just kind of blended into the background.
And then in the Rose Bowl against Alabama, it all changed. With the game tied 7-7 in the second quarter, Morris got matched up on a linebacker in man coverage, ran a crossing route, caught a J.J. McCarthy pass, and housed it from 38 yards out to take a 13-7 lead. In a game that was tied 20-20 at the end of regulation, that was a huge play. A couple steps slower or a drop there, and maybe Michigan’s storybook season ends differently.
Michigan’s Tyler Morris hit 20.8 mph on this 38-yard touchdown. #ReelSpeed pic.twitter.com/a2I1ezXcx6
— Reel Analytics (@RAanalytics) January 1, 2024
Morris could very well be Michigan’s #1 receiver in 2024, and reports out of practice have been positive. But this is still a player who caught just 13 balls and didn’t score a touchdown until the post-season. We have yet to see how he handles more targets or whether he can shake loose from opposing teams’ #1 corners, if they choose to defend him in that way. A lot of comparisons have been made to Ronnie Bell, and it would be a good thing if he can approximate Bell.
Prediction: Starting wide receiver; 40 catches for 560 yards and 5 touchdowns
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