Linebackers answer call
It’s a small world, especially in the world of arena football. Kelvin Morris received a phone call on a Saturday in mid-March that left him a little confused. His cousin, Nygel Rogers, and “some other guy” were trying to convince him to come to Washington for an arenafootball2 tryout with the Spokane Shock.
Rogers and the “other guy” – who turned out to be starting quarterback Andrico Hines – talked him into making the trip. A few days later, Morris found himself “on the opposite end of the earth.”
“When (Nygel) said Washington, I thought he meant Washington D.C., close to home,” the Timmonsville, S.C., native said. “Then I got my plane ticket, and it said Spokane, Washington, on it – I was like, ‘I don’t know where this is, but it’s not D.C.’ “
So Morris, who was tired of waiting to hear back from Green Bay after an NFL workout, came to Spokane. Now, alongside fellow af2 rookie Jermaine Harris, he’s making the most of his experience with the Shock on one of the top defenses in the league.
Morris’ seven touchdowns this season are the most scored by a defender in franchise history. The jack linebacker has 30 total tackles, 15 pass breakups and three interceptions.
Harris, the mack linebacker, has compiled 61.5 tackles (59 solo), three sacks and two TDs.
It was Rogers, a defensive back for the Shock and a former college teammate of Harris’, who got both of them here. Harris and Rogers played together at Georgia Military College one season (2000) before Rogers moved on to a standout career at Appalachian State.
But the two kept in touch and Rogers gave Harris the same phone call that Morris got.
“(Nygel) knew I was looking for an arena team and he gave me a call,” said Harris. “I started talking to coach (Adam) Shackleford for a few days – and then I got on a flight and came up here.”
Harris, originally from Tryone, Ga., won a national title with Georgia Military the next season and went on to play for Lou Holtz at the University of South Carolina. The second cousin of former NFL great Franco Harris and son of Joe Harris – who played six seasons in the NFL – Jermaine Harris compiled 27 tackles, an interception and two blocks his senior season as a Gamecock.
Playing for Holtz was a great experience that taught him a lot about football, Harris said.
“He’s a tough guy, but he could motivate you to jump off a cliff, too … he did a lot of things old-school with football, to make the team tougher, that’s what I respect about him.”
Morris’ path to Spokane was a little different.
After starting for four years at quarterback in high school, Morris went to Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he was asked to switch positions because there was already a starting quarterback with whom the team was happy – Hines.
“When I got there they told me they wanted (Andrico) to play at quarterback. … I’m a team player and I told my coach, ‘That’s no problem, I’ll play wherever you need me.’ “
Morris was put at fourth linebacker on the depth chart.
“That kind of gave me something to work at, it was a challenge. I said, ‘OK, fourth linebacker, I’m going to work my way up,’ so that’s what I did.”
The first season, he led the team in sacks. His second season (when Hines left for Middle Tennessee State, where he finished his collegiate career), Morris was named defensive player of the year in the conference.
“I think it kind of worked out better than anything for me,” said Morris, who went on to play at Clemson before earning his degree from West Georgia – where he played his final season of college football in 2004. At West Georgia, he was a teammate of the newest member of the Shock roster – defensive lineman Odell Willis.
Both Harris and Morris are likely candidates to move on the AFL next season. But if that doesn’t work out, both are willing to keep trying in the af2.
“I’m in it until it’s over,” Morris said.