Sammy Morris

Samuel Morris III (born March 23, 1977) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL draft. He played college football at Texas Tech University.

Sammy Morris

Morris in February 2009
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Position:	Assistant director of player support development
Personal information
Born:	(1977-03-23) March 23, 1977 (age 47) Oxford, England
Height:	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:	John Jay (TX)
College:	Texas Tech
NFL draft:	2000 / round: 5 / pick: 156
Career history
As a player:
Buffalo Bills (2000–2003) Miami Dolphins (2004–2006) New England Patriots (2007–2010) Dallas Cowboys (2011)
As a coach:
New England Patriots (2016–2017) Assistant strength & conditioning coach Dean (2018–2020) Running backs & special teams coach
As an administrator:
Texas Tech (2021–present) Assistant director of player support development
Career highlights and awards
Super Bowl champion (LI)
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards: 3,053 Rushing average: 4.1 Rushing touchdowns: 26 Receptions: 166 Receiving yards: 1,258 Receiving touchdowns: 1 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

Morris attended John Jay High School, where he played both quarterback and running back. As a senior, he was named the San Antonio Offensive Player of the Year by the San Antonio Express-News and the District 28-5A MVP.

He accepted a football scholarship from Texas Tech University. As a redshirt freshman in 1996, he appeared in the first eight games of the season, rushing for 226 yards and 4 touchdowns on 29 attempts. The same year, he was placed on academic probation and was forced to take a required academic study course. He was expelled from the school after missing one class and being late for two others.^[1] He worked as a short-order cook at Sea World during his time away from football.

In 1997, he missed the season after failing to make the required grades. In 1998, although he earned a 3.0 grade average in the spring semester, he still missed the season after being ruled ineligible by the NCAA, because his course work did not meet NCAA guidelines.

As a senior in 1999, he appeared in 9 games as a team co-captain. He was second on the squad behind Shaud Williams with 562 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
5 ft 11+7⁄8 in (1.83 m)	221 lb (100 kg)	31+1⁄2 in (0.80 m)	9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m)	4.68 s	1.58 s	2.70 s	4.21 s	7.05 s	37.5 in (0.95 m)	9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)	23 reps
All values from NFL Combine[2]

Buffalo Bills

Morris was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth-round (156th overall) of the 2000 NFL draft.^[3] As a rookie, he appeared in 12 games with 8 starts, rushing for 341 yards and 5 touchdowns, caught 37 passes for 268 yards and one score, while also making 11 special teams tackles.

In 2001, he appeared in 16 games (one start), leading the team with 28 special teams tackles, while rushing for 72 yards on 20 carries as a backup running back. In 2002, he led the team with 31 special teams tackles. In 2003, he registered 9 special teams tackles in 9 games.

Miami Dolphins

Morris signed a free agent contract with the Miami Dolphins on March 12, 2004, and though he was expected to be a fullback he ended up being the team's leading rusher following the abrupt retirement of Ricky Williams. He started eight of the 13 games he played in, finishing with 523 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

He backed up rookie running back Ronnie Brown in 2005 and led the Dolphins with 16 special teams tackles. Morris was suspended for the first four games of the 2006 regular season.^[4]

New England Patriots

On March 3, 2007, the New England Patriots signed Morris to a four-year contract. He started two of the first six games of the season, averaging 4.5 yards a carry. On October 14, 2007, Morris suffered a chest injury while playing against the Dallas Cowboys. On November 2, 2007, after missing two games, Morris was placed on injured reserve with a chest injury, ending his season.^[5]

In 2009, he made the USA Today All Joe Team after registering 319 rushing yards with 2 touchdowns along with 19 receptions for 180 yards. He missed 4 games with an injury.^[6]

Dallas Cowboys

On December 13, 2011, Morris was signed by the Dallas Cowboys after they placed starting running back DeMarco Murray on injured reserve with a fractured ankle and high ankle sprain.^[7] He rushed for 98 yards in three games as a backup. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

NFL career statistics

Legend
Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	Games		Rushing					Receiving
		GP	GS	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD
2000	BUF	12	8	93	341	3.7	32	5	37	268	7.2	24	1
2001	BUF	16	1	20	72	3.6	10	0	7	36	5.1	11	0
2002	BUF	16	0	2	5	2.5	5	0	3	48	16.0	18	0
2003	BUF	9	0	19	70	3.7	12	1	14	100	7.1	24	0
2004	MIA	13	8	132	523	4.0	35	6	22	124	5.6	24	0
2005	MIA	16	2	16	58	3.6	9	1	8	54	6.8	18	0
2006	MIA	12	4	92	400	4.3	55	1	21	162	7.7	44	0
2007	NE	6	2	85	384	4.5	49	3	6	35	5.8	18	0
2008	NE	13	7	156	727	4.7	35	7	17	161	9.5	42	0
2009	NE	12	5	73	319	4.4	55	2	19	180	9.5	35	0
2010	NE	16	0	20	56	2.8	9	0	7	77	11.0	22	0
2011	DAL	3	0	28	98	3.5	15	0	5	13	2.6	9	0
		144	37	736	3,053	4.1	55	26	166	1,258	7.6	44	1

Playoffs

Year	Team	Games		Rushing					Receiving
		GP	GS	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD
2009	NWE	1	0	1	9	9.0	9	0	3	15	5.0	8	0
2010	NWE	1	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0
		2	0	1	9	9.0	9	0	3	15	5.0	8	0

Coaching career

Morris was an assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Patriots from 2016 to 2018, while simultaneously also being an assistant football coach at Attleboro High School since 2013.^[8] In June 2018, he was hired to take over the running back assistant coach position in Dean College.^[9]

Morris was named the assistant director of player support development at his alma mater Texas Tech on April 26, 2021.^[10]

Personal life

His father Samuel Morris II and his brother Brien Morris, were staff sergeants in the Air Force.

References

1. "Educating Sammy". Retrieved February 19, 2019.
2. "Sammy Morris, Combine Results, FB - Texas Tech". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
3. "2000 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
4. "Reports: Dolphins RB Morris suspended four games". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 1, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
5. Lee, Robert (November 3, 2007). "Chest injury shelves Morris for season". The Providence Journal.
6. "Annual All-Joe team". Retrieved February 19, 2019.
7. "Sammy Morris thought he was done". December 13, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
8. "Former Patriot Joins Bombardier Coaching Staff". May 13, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
9. "Former NFL Standout Sammy Morris Added To Coaching Staff". Retrieved February 19, 2019.
10. "Texas Tech Great Sammy Morris Joins Football Staff". Texas Tech Red Raiders - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved May 4, 2021.

External links

• New England Patriots bio