Iowa Linebacker James Morris has been named the Lott IMPACT Player of the Week. The 6-2, 240-pound senior from Solon, Iowa had eight tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery in Iowa’s 17-10 win over Northwestern Saturday.
Morris is one of 20 quarter-finalists for the annual Lott IMPACT Trophy, which will be presented Dec. 8 in Newport Beach, Ca. The Lott award is the only major college award based on character. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics and Tenacity.
Morris has been an academic standout at Iowa, earning District VI Academic All-American honors and twice being named Academic All-Big Ten. He was a 3.95 GPA student in high school and is a political science major at Iowa.
This season, Morris leads the Hawkeyes in tackles for loss (7.5), sacks (4) and interceptions (3). He has 64 tackles on the year; 357 for his career.
Morris was a superstar in high school, being named all-state in Iowa three straight years and leading his team to three straight undefeated seasons. On offense, he ran for over 6,500 yards and scored 110 touchdowns.
2013 Lott IMPACT Players of the Week
Week I – Devon Kennard, USC
Week 2 – Ed Reynolds, Stanford
Week 3 – Anthony Barr, UCLA
Week 4 – Spencer Shuey, Clemson
Week 5 – Alden Darby, Arizona State
Week 6 – Eric Kendricks, UCLA
Week 7 – Bryce Hager, Baylor
Week 8 – Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State
Week 9 – James Morris, Iowa
Other notable performances by players on the Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List were:
Lamarcus Joyner (Florida State, DB): Broke up one pass, had a quarterback hurry and a tackle for loss among his 4 tackles in 49-17 win over North Carolina State that kept Seminoles unbeaten.
Ryan Shazier (Ohio State, LB): Led undefeated Buckeyes with 10 tackles, including one sack and had a quarterback hurry in win over Penn State, 63-14.
Spencer Shuey (Clemson, LB): Recovered a fumble and contributed 5 tackles in 40-27 win over Maryland.
Derron Smith (Fresno State, DB): Had 10 tackles and broke up one pass as Bulldogs remained undefeated with 35-28 win over San Diego State.
