Moving up the charts: Morris excelling early at Alabama

TUSCALOOSA -- If he'd have known he would be playing college football at a place like Alabama -- or anywhere for that matter -- Allen alum Alec Morris might have started down the path toward early graduation at the beginning of his junior year.

At that point, Morris, Alabama's newest freshman quarterback, was just trying to get on the field with the Eagles.

"I wasn't even 100 percent sure I was going to play college football," Morris said. "It all happened pretty quickly."

Much like former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy -- who was forced to play backup behind Chase Daniel until his senior year -- Morris was buried on the depth chart through his early years of high school. Ahead of him was Matt Brown, now a sophomore at TCU, and Tucker Carter, who helped lead Allen to a Class 5A State Championship in 2008.

While a number of the country's top quarterback prospects for the Class of 2012 were receiving invitations to prestigious camps and sitting in the crosshairs of future suitors, Morris was simply waiting to play.

"Growing up, I was always kind of fighting my way to the top," Morris said. "I feel like it's just going to be a similar situation (at Alabama)."

Last month's departure of backup quarterback Phillip Sims, who transferred to Virginia has moved Morris one spot closer to the top. When he enrolls at the end of the month, Morris will join redshirt freshman Phillip Ely and potential hybrid option Blake Sims in Alabama's inexperienced group of backups behind starter AJ McCarron.

When rumors of Sims' departure were finally confirmed, Morris received a phone call from Alabama wide receivers coach Mike Groh. There was never any talk of Morris facing a redshirt season in 2012 before Sims' transfer, and there certainly wasn't any during this conversation.

"I see that as a great opportunity to be able to walk in as a true freshman," Morris said. "You never know what's going to happen. It's just fired me up, made me want to work harder."

Morris' inexperience didn't keep him from putting up solid numbers during his junior season at Allen as he threw for 2,533 yards, ran for 216 and combined for 30 touchdowns. Despite his school's high profile, Morris didn't garner much attention from the top programs in the country. In fact, Morris didn't have a single offer until the following spring, when Wake Forest and North Texas offered.

Everything changed after Morris attended one of Alabama's summer camps.

He didn't leave with an official offer, but was encouraged by the praise he received about his mechanics, which were described to him as "flawless."

Not until Alabama missed on five-star prospects Gunner Kiel and Jameis Winston did the Tide give Morris the third and final offer of his college recruitment. He quickly swapped his verbal commitment from Wake Forest to the Crimson Tide just weeks before his senior season.

"There was so much hesitancy around this kid because he didn't have the multiple offers," said Kevin Murray, former Texas A&M quarterback and Morris' longtime quarterback coach. "You've got to get that first one before the offers come in."

Morris' senior season enforced Alabama's offer as he completed 61 percent of his passes for 3,242 yards and 35 touchdowns in one of the country's most competitive districts.

And now, August could feature a heated competition for the backup quarterback job between Ely and Morris.

"[Morris] fits more of [Alabama's] mold of what they want their quarterback to look like, what they want him to be," said Tom Luginbill, ESPN national recruiting analyst. "I think this thrusts him right into the fray to hopefully create an environment of competition that those coaches want to have.

"It won't take very long before he enters himself into the mix."

Since the final snap of his high school career, Morris has worked exclusively under center during workouts with Murray as he prepares to transition from Allen's shotgun-based spread offense to Alabama's pro-style attack. He's buried himself in Alabama's playbook and communicated frequently with new offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier.

"That will be the biggest challenge for [Morris], learning the playbook in and out, learning how to read defenses, how to read, process and deliver on time," Murray said. "Until you get a visual picture for yourself, on the field and under center, no one can explain it to you."

Enrolling early might have expedited the process, but Alabama head coach Nick Saban said Morris promises to be a quick learner.

And he has already displayed the patience that may or may not be needed at Alabama.

"AJ didn't come in early and by the middle of the season, he was a very good backup quarterback when he was a freshman," Saban said. "Alec has got a lot of positive qualities and is a very bright guy. I think he'll be able to develop nicely for us."

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