Mike Morris Scouting Report
By: Michael Higgins
(Image courtesy of Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
School: Michigan (Senior)
Position: EDGE
HT: 6’6
WT: 278 lbs
Sideline Prospect Ranking: #93
Mike Morris is a tall defensive end with a long frame. Football is something that has always been a close part of his family as Mike’s father played offensive tackle for Florida State. Originally a 4-star recruit, Morris attended American Heritage High School. Morris hails from Delray Beach, Florida, an area that he dominated all throughout high school. Morris was named twice to the All-Area First Team and was member pf the Palm Beach All-County Team all four years. Morris was a top-500 player nationally and commanded the attention of many programs. Morris chose to play for Michigan over schools such as Tennessee, Florida State, and Oklahoma. Mike Morris had an uphill climb to be starting on the edge for the Michigan Wolverines. In recent years, the edge position in Ann Arbor has been loaded with talent, so Morris had to wait his turn and pay his dues. He did just that, he did not transfer, he did not quit, and he knew his time was coming. In the 2021 season, Morris appeared in all 14 games. As a senior, Morris appeared in 12 games and tallied 11 starts. Over his time at Michigan, Morris received All-Academic honors as well as All-Big 10 honors. The most promising aspect of Morris’ game is his potential and room for growth. He has been at Michigan for 4 years but has only been a starter for the last 2 seasons.
He has improved tremendously from season to season and can provide a team with a high-ceiling edge rusher as a project player. Mike Morris is a bigger edge rusher that offers the versatility to move all over the defensive line. He has shown the ability to provide high-level play at both the 3-tech as well as the edge. Morris brings a lot of energy to the line of scrimmage and is extremely relentless when it comes to chasing down the quarterback. He has functional length that is used effectively to beat the slower offensive linemen. On top of great length, Morris has violent brick hands. He keeps the hands active and deconstructs blocks quickly with pure strength and movement in the chest of the linemen. Despite a bigger frame, Morris wins with athleticism as well. He has great pursuit skills and is able to stay within striking distance of the ball carrier.
This level of tenacity also comes back to bite Morris on occasion. He is an extremely aggressive player and wants to win every rep, he can tend to work himself too far up the field and take himself out of the play or create a gap for the ball carrier to run through. Morris also plays too high on the pads, giving the opponent all the leverage to completely stall Morris. Morris has length, but playing too high does not allow him to maximize his natural length. Mike Morris will provide any NFL organization with a player that can not only contribute to winning football games right now but can also blossom and develop into a much more complete football player. He fits into a variety of schemes and can be shuffled along the line.
Scheme Fit: Scheme Versatile
Ideal Role: Starting Edge
Best Team Fits: ATL, DAL, SEA
Player Comparison: Denico Autry
Player Grade: 73.3
