Michigan State University Athletics
Co-Captain Morris Leads Spartans In Senior Year
10/12/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 8, 1999
When MSU senior safety Aric Morris speaks of his teammates, he speaks of a special bond with them.
?We approach things together, as a family,? said Morris. ?Any time family is in trouble, you help them. That?s how we are on the field.
?The majority of the team was here working out together in the summer,? said Morris. ?We were pulling each other up and driving each other. It was everybody on this team doing what it takes for us to be successful.?
And Morris has done as much to help his family of teammates as any Spartan this season. He leads the team in tackles and has twice been named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, but his contributions as a senior leader and co-captain have meant just as much to the program.
?It?s very important to me to be a leader on his team,? said Morris. ?The goals we set ? winning the Big Ten championship and going to a New Year?s Day bowl ? are not easy ones. And it?s one thing to talk those goals and another to go out and accomplish them.
?That?s where the leadership comes in. I?m there to keep everyone on the right track and let them know that we have to go out there and do it every week, that we can?t just talk about it.?
Much of the talk this season about Michigan State?s football team has centered on its defense, particularly the run defense. The Spartans lead the Big Ten and are fourth in the NCAA in rushing defense, surrendering only 51.8 yards per game. They also have yet to allow a rushing touchdown in 1999.
Morris has been a key part of the resurgence of the MSU defense. He led the team in tackles in 1998, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors, and is the Spartans? top defender this season, topping the conference with a 12.5 tackles-per-game average.
Morris recorded a career-high 19 stops (12 solo), including four tackles for losses, in the season-opening victory over Oregon, and has reached double-figures in tackles 12 times in his career. It is his willingness to mix it up inside that has made him a successful run stopper.
?A lot of people say I?m small, but I like to get up into the trenches a lot, play the physical aspect of the game,? said the 5-foot-11 Morris. ?When a team comes out with more of a finesse game I don?t like that too much. I?d rather come right at them.?
But the team leader in Morris is quick to point out that he has not been alone in helping to revitalize the MSU defense.
?We?re just playing with more effort than we did last year,? said the Oak Park, Mich., native. ?More guys are hustling to the ball and doing the extra things on every play. That is a credit to a lot of players on this defense, especially our defensive linemen and linebackers.?
Morris and his defensive mates will have a chance to test their resolve against Michigan, with talented Wolverine tailback Anthony Thomas and Michigan offensive linemen averaging 290 pounds.
?I thought we played well defensively against Michigan last year,? said Morris, ?except for one long run that Thomas broke on a mental error by us. But we can play with those guys. They always have a good team, but if we execute our game plan it will be a good game.?
And getting a victory at Spartan Stadium in his last game against the rival Wolverines is something Morris sees as a distinct possibility.
?It seems like everything is in position, we just have to put the final piece in place and go out and make things happen,? said Morris.
Being a leader and making things happen are what has made Morris someone his teammates look up to.
?It?s a real honor to be named a co-captain by these guys,? said Morris. ?They know I?m serious and that I see everything they say and do. And they know I?m behind them 100 percent.?
Those intangible leadership qualities coupled with his outstanding physical ability give Morris an opportunity to make the jump to the next level. But as the Spartans pursue a Big Ten title, Morris gives little consideration to the possibility of playing in the NFL.
?I think about it some,? said Morris of his future in football, ?but right now I?m here with my team, trying to accomplish the goals we set for ourselves. I?ll think more about that after we play on New Year?s Day.?
By Rico Longoria, Michigan State Sports Information Student Assistant
