Wayne Morris (American football)

Wayne Morris
Born:	May 3, 1954 (age 69); Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Career information
Position(s)	Running back
College	Southern Methodist
NFL draft	1976, Round: 5 / Pick 141
Career history
As player
1976–1983	St. Louis Cardinals
1984	San Diego Chargers

Wayne Morris (born May 3, 1954) is a former college and professional football player.

Early life and high school

Morris was born and raised in

Dallas, Texas. In 1972, Morris graduated from South Oak Cliff High School (SOC), where he starred at defensive back and running back. A 1981 D Magazine article chose Morris as one of the best football players to ever come out of a Dallas high school. As the article asserted, "When Wayne Morris was at SOC in the early Seventies, he was the best all-around high school football player in Texas. As a junior he made second-team all-state on defense; as a senior he made first-team all-state on offense."^[1]

College football

In college, Morris was a freshman starter at Southern Methodist University, where he starred at running back. As Dan Jenkins wrote in Sports Illustrated during Morris's freshman year, "Wayne Morris is already being pronounced the greatest thing to come to the school (SMU) since Doak Walker." Morris went on to rush for over 3000 yards during his college career.^[2]^[1]

Professional football

Morris was selected in the 5th round of the 1976 NFL Draft by the Cardinals. He also played for the Chargers during his 8 years in the NFL. During his NFL career, Morris ran for 3,387 yards on 899 attempts, scoring 38 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 156 passes for 1,190 yards and 5 receiving touchdowns.^[3]