Robert Samuel Morris (born January 18, 1975) is a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

who spent his entire 8-year professional career for the Indianapolis Colts of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He played college football at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

and was selected by the Colts in the first round (28th overall) of the

2000 NFL draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

. With the Colts, Morris won Super Bowl XLI against the Chicago Bears.

Early years

Morris was born and raised in

Nampa, Idaho Nampa () is the largest city in Canyon County, Idaho. Its population was 100,200 at the time of the 2020 Census. It is Idaho's third-most populous city. Nampa is about west of Boise along Interstate 84, and six miles (10 km) west of Meridian. ...

, and graduated from

Nampa High School Nampa High School is a four-year public secondary school in Nampa, Idaho, the oldest of three high schools operated by the Nampa School District #131. The school colors are red white and blue and the mascot is a bulldog. Athletics Nampa comp ...

in 1993. He was an all-state fullback for the Bulldogs in football and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n, and also

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in basketball and track. Morris was also an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

and was inducted into the NHS hall of fame in 2010.

College career

Morris attended

(BYU) in Provo, Utah, and played college football for the

Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

. Morris was a semi-finalist for the

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

and was named as a first-team All-American by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

, '' Sporting News'', and ''The Football News''. He earned a bachelor's degree in communications from BYU.

Professional career

In 2000, Morris was selected in the first round (28th overall) of the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

by the Indianapolis Colts, where he spent his entire career. Morris started at middle

for the Colts for the first 5 years of his career, and was the Colts' leading

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackler A tackler was a supervisor in a textile factory responsible for the working of a number of power looms and the weavers who operated them. The title derived from the job, which was to "tackle" any mechanical problems encountered with the looms in ...

in the 2006 season. Morris also started 9 games for the Colts during the 2006 season, including 3 games in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

and Super Bowl XLI, replacing Gilbert Gardner to improve the Colts' run defense. In 2001, Morris had his best statistical year with 114 total tackles (84 solo) and one sack. Morris was an unrestricted free agent after the 2006 season concluded and was re-signed by Indianapolis on March 5. He injured his left knee in the fourth game of 2007, and had season-ending surgery. He was released after a failed physical on February 27, 2008.

NFL statistics

Notes and references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Rob 1975 births Living people Latter Day Saints from Idaho People from Nampa, Idaho Players of American football from Idaho American football outside linebackers BYU Cougars football players Indianapolis Colts players Ed Block Courage Award recipients