Personal
- Born in Nampa, Ida.
- Parents are Don and Vicki
- Enjoys the culinary arts and racquetball
- Recruited by Stanford, Washington, Arizona State and Utah
- Served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Toronto, Canada
- Is an Eagle Scout
- Majored in business
- Is a regular speaker to youth groups and schools around the Utah County area
- Volunteer at the Special Olympics
Before BYU
- Named Academic All-Southern Idaho Conference while at Nampa High
- Lettered in track, basketball and football
- Twice named all-state
- Honorable mention USA Today All-American
- Coached by Terry Hopkins
Summary
- Played in 45 games for the Cougars, starting in 35 games
- 2000- Invited to participate in the Delchamps Senior Bowl (chose not to play)
- Became a first-round NFL Draft selection, as the Indianapolis Colts claimed Morris with the 28th overall pick
- Led the team in tackles as a junior and sophomore
- Despite missing four games due to injury, had the second most tackles (77) as a senior
- Candidate for the Butkus Award
- First Team Mountain West Conference as a senior
- WAC Defensive Player of the Year as a junior
Stats
Year UT AT TFL FR FC PI PD BK Hur Sck Totl1993 3 8 - - - - 1 - - - 17.01997 61 49 8.5 - - - 1 - 6 1 210.51998 114 33 16 1 1 1 4 1 11 6 336.0Total 178 90 24.5 1 1 1 6 1 17 7 563.5
| Career | Tackles | Sacks | Interceptions | Misc | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | GP | SOLO | AST | TOT | TFL/YDS | NO | YDS | INT | YDS | TD | FF | FR | FRYDS | QBH | PBU |
| 1999 | 11 | 48 | 29 | 0 | 8.5 / 55 | 5 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1998 | 13 | 57 | 36 | 13 | 13 / 54 | 2 | 19 | 1 | 51 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1997 | 11 | 38 | 23 | 0 | 6.5 / 20 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS: | 49 | 147 | 90 | 13 | 28 / 129 | 8 | 68 | 1 | 51 | 1 | 2 | 5 | - | 2 | 1 |
| Career | Kickoff Returns | Punt Returns | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | GP | KR | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PR | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | NO | LOST |
| 1999 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | 11 | 3 | 37 | 12.33 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 12.00 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS: | 49 | 3 | 37 | 12.33 | 18 | - | 1 | 12 | 12.00 | 12 | - | - | - |
| Career | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | GP | REC | YDS | Y/R | LNG | TD | ATT | YDS | Y/A | LNG | TD | NO | LOST |
| 1999 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | 11 | 1 | 27 | 27.00 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS: | 49 | 1 | 27 | 27.00 | 27 | - | 2 | - | 0.00 | 3 | - | - | - |
Hall of Fame
2015 BYU Hall of Fame
Rob Morris is one of the greatest BYU defensive players to put on a Cougar uniform. His speed, tenacity and impact on BYU’s defense earned him All-America honors as both a junior and a senior. Born and raised in Nampa, Idaho, Morris was recruited out of Nampa High School where he was a USA Today All-American.
He came to BYU in 1993 and played running back for several games before switching to linebacker. After serving a church mission to Toronto, Canada from 1994-96, he returned to BYU where he played linebacker during the 1997-99 seasons. Morris earned All-America honors in both 1998 and 1999. He was also a two-time Western Athletic Conference All-Conference selection and was named WAC Defensive Player of the Year in 1998. As a senior in 1999, Morris was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award.
Morris led the Cougars in tackles in 1997 and 1998 and posted 345 tackles during his career, the eighth-most in BYU history. In 1998 he totaled 147 tackles, the seventh-highest total by a Cougar in a single season. He also helped BYU to bowl games in three of his seasons and was a team captain in 1999.
During his career Morris was a fan-favorite at BYU. To promote him for the Butkus Award his senior season, the athletic department created Rob “Freight Train” Morris train whistles and handed them out at the home season opener. The nickname came from in interview where Morris jokingly commented that sacking a quarterback was like a freight train hitting a Yugo.
In 2000, Morris became the ninth Cougar to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, going 28th overall to the Indianapolis Colts. He spent his entire eight-year NFL career with Indianapolis, starting at middle linebacker for five seasons. He started every postseason game of the 2006 season, helping the Colts win Super Bowl XLI.
Over his eight-year NFL career, Morris had 482 tackles, seven sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception. In 2002, Morris received the NFL’s Ed Block Courage Award. The annual award is given to select players that are voted on by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship and courage. He retired from the league in 2008.
Morris graduated from BYU with a degree in communications. He and his wife, Traceie, have two children, Carter and Paige.