Tyler Morris had already been through so much.

With the COVID-19 pandemic raging on, the state of Illinois cancelled the 2020 fall high school football season. Morris, ranked as the No. 14 wide receiver and No. 141 overall prospect nationally, was supposed to be part of a dynamic duo along with elite quarterback JJ McCarthy at La Grange Park (Ill.) Nazareth Academy.

Morris and McCarthy led Nazareth Academy to a state title appearance in 2019 and had aspirations of winning it all. Instead, the two never got the opportunity. McCarthy transferred to national powerhouse Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy for his senior season and signed with Michigan that December.

Morris watched as high schools around the country took the field, while those in Illinois had to wait. Finally, an announcement of a four-game spring season provided a glimmer of hope. There would be no magical season or state title, but at least it was something.

Morris starred on both sides of the ball for Nazareth Academy. The offense ran through him at wide receiver, and he made several plays on the defensive side of the ball at safety. Morris notched two interceptions in Nazareth Academy’s final spring contest.

However, the second one would prove to be the final play of his high school career.

“I was floating out trying to guard the receiver and went up for the ball,” Morris said. “I came down with it and felt my knee buckle. I don’t really know what happened after that, but I couldn’t walk on it or anything. I was hoping it wasn’t my ACL. I felt my bones kind of move, so I was hoping I just dislocated my knee. But I knew it wasn’t good.”

Morris laid motionless on the field for a good five minutes before being moved over to the training table on the Nazareth Academy sideline as his team continued to battle in a defensive struggle against Niles (Ill.) Notre Dame.

A fierce competitor by nature, Morris had a look of despair on his face as teammates tapped his shoulder pads in a gesture of support. It wasn’t until after the game that Morris’ worst nightmare became a reality — the diagnosis was in fact a torn ACL.

Once considered a catastrophic injury for football players, torn ACLs still carry that old-school stigma. However, full recoveries are common and many players go on to have great careers post-injury – arguably the greatest professional football player ever, Michigan Man Tom Brady, is still going strong after tearing his ACL back in 2008.

Morris’ father, Michael, knows a thing or two about the injury. After all, Michael tore his ACL when he was in high school. It was almost Déjà vu as Michael suffered the injury at the same age on the same leg.

“I just told him about the experience that I had,” Michael said. “You can recover from this. You can still play. There is just a lot of hard work ahead of you. We wanted him to keep his spirits up and refocus. It’s not the plan that we had, but things can change. Let’s not let this derail everything. The interesting thing is we had just talked about making it through the season without an injury just with it being weird with a shortened season.

“It was more of a ‘really?’ than an ‘oh crap.’ You hope for the best, but I kind of knew it was a torn ACL. Once it was confirmed, it was ‘let’s get it repaired and get back to work.’ It’s not like you can take back time. That’s really the only option.”

Morris’ mother, Shirley, had a bit of a different reaction.

“I was scared,” Shirley said. “I was worried what that would mean for him with colleges and his future. There was no question about him working and getting back. The question for me was would other people believe in him the same way we do.”

Just two days after the injury, Tyler and his parents had a long discussion about his future and how they wanted to handle the recruiting process moving forward. At the time, Tyler was considered a Michigan lean but was slated to make an official visit to Notre Dame and was interested in seeing programs further away from home like Florida and Texas.

Tyler had a summer decision in mind, but with the injury, the Morris family was forced to look at the recruiting process from a new perspective.

“It accelerated the process,” Michael said. “I wouldn’t say he enjoyed the recruiting process, but he was interested in what was out there. He had gone up to Michigan a couple of times, and that was his No. 1, but there was curiosity. He also wanted to see other campuses. When the injury happened, we sat down and talked about it.

“I said ‘we can reach out to the school that you’re interested in or we can wait and go through the rehab process and see who’s still interested.’ That was the first time Ty let us in and said Michigan was his No. 1.”

Tyler didn’t just tell his parents that Michigan was his favorite. He told them he was ready to put an end to the process and commit that day.

“Anybody that knows Ty knows he’s matter-of-fact and logical,” Shirley said. “When everything happened, he said ‘nope, I’m done. I’m going to Michigan.’ We were like ‘slow down.’ He said he didn’t want to do anymore recruiting stuff and wanted to focus on rehab and school. He said ‘let’s call Michigan and pray they are still interested.’”

It turns out Tyler and his parents had no reason to worry.

“We called them and said this is what happened,” Shirley said. “They said it was no big deal. Let’s get your recovery going. It was a mixture of happiness and crazy calm. We’re done. We don’t have to be on six hours of Zoom calls every week. It’s over. We can focus on his rehab and Michigan. It was a sense of relief that we had a home.”

Tyler called the Michigan staff and committed on Monday night (April 19) and made it public the following day. Michigan stayed true to its word about getting his recovery going. Less than 24 hours after Tyler informed Michigan of his decision, Michael received a call from Dr. Asheesh Bedi, U-M’s Head Orthopaedic Team Physician.

Bedi, who has clinical and research interests in ACL injuries, then put Michael in touch with Dr. Mark Bowen, a team physician with the Chicago Bears. Bowen added up performing the procedure — much to the elation of the Morris family.

“(Michigan has) been pretty incredible,” Shirley said. “We asked them if they had a doctor that they would be better for us. They hooked us up with a doctor that they approved of and would work with our insurance. They’ve been super supportive in that regard. They talk to Tyler all the time and send us texts. They’ve been incredible.”

Tyler added:

“They’ve been really supportive. They set me up with a surgeon. Coach (Josh) Gattis, Coach (Steve) Casula and Coach (Jim) Harbaugh all text me and check in with me. It was really cool that they set me up with a doctor that works with NFL guys. They’ve been really supportive and great through everything.”

As Tyler mentioned, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has been there with him every step of the way.

In fact, Harbaugh was one of the first people to reach out to Michael on the day of Tyler’s surgery.

“The day Tyler had surgery, we were at breakfast, and the phone rang,” Michael said. “It was Coach Harbaugh. He asked ‘how is our guy doing?’ It’s those little things. He didn’t have to do that. He has 90 other things to worry about. But those little things go a long way in making you feel like family. It validates the decision that your child has made.”

Tyler was unable to walk for three days after the surgery. The first step in the rehabilitation process involved simple actions like lifting his leg. It was all about ‘turning the muscles back on.’ Eventually, Tyler began to walk and work with weights.

He worked diligently at physical therapy sessions at PRO Sports & Spinal Rehab under the guidance of Dr. Randy Cybulski and kept a positive attitude throughout the first couple of months.

“I was obviously disappointed,” Morris said. “For a day, I was in that mindset where I was just trying to absorb everything. After that, I tried not to focus on what I was going to miss. I’m focused on what I can control. I knew I was going to work through rehab and all of that.

“At first, it was just getting the strength up and getting my mobility back. The biggest thing was building the muscle. For a while after surgery and even now, my leg is a lot skinnier than the other one.”

The injury occurred in mid-April. Fast forward to now, and Morris is already running and appears to be just ahead of schedule. Morris still attends physical therapy three times a week but recently started getting on field for speed training with Josh Taylor, a personal trainer and owner of Chicagoland-based Xtreme Speed.

“I’ve mainly been focusing on upper body work and keeping him strong up top,” Taylor said. “When I got the clear to focus on more speed work, we worked on straight linear work. We’re waiting for the clear to do lateral and change of direction work. It’s more so been about acceleration and top end speed.

“He’s been looking good out here. He’s right up to speed. He’s opening up really well and his mechanics are back on point. He’s feeling confident in his knee during these drills. He’s going to be good to go. I’ve been really impressed.”

The next step in the rehab process will be the aforementioned lateral movement and change of direction work. Prior to the injury, Tyler was known as a tactical route runner with the ability to make big plays after the catch.

With just around three months left before he enrolls at Michigan, Taylor wants to make sure Tyler is ready to roll as soon as he steps foot on campus.

“We want him to get as strong as possible,” Taylor said. “We want to get him flexible, mobile, quick and fast. We want to get him prepped for winter conditioning and spring ball. I honestly think he’ll be ready. He’s mentally tough and is a talented guy that works hard. When you have that combination, you’re going to be successful.”

Tyler could have easily put his head down — he had every reason to. Instead, he’s been working harder than ever before while maintaining a positive attitude. Tyler has never felt sorry for himself and has attacked each day of rehab with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.

“We’ve been amazed at his maturity,” Michael said. “We knew he would attack it. But he’s stayed positive through this. There is a certain emotional maturity that goes along with that. Sometimes, I sit back, and I’m a little astonished that this is my 17-year-old. I’m very proud of how he’s handled it.”

Along with his physical therapy and speed training, Tyler has also been doing some of his own work in the backyard. When asked if he’s touched a football since the injury, Tyler grinned and proceeded to talk about his new Jugs machine, which ‘throws’ perfect passes to any precise spot.

With his little sister loading the machine, Tyler has been able to catch hundreds — maybe even thousands — of footballs over the last few months.

“We were going to go out for a commitment dinner, but my parents were like ‘how about we just get a Jugs machine’ instead,” Tyler said. “I haven’t been able to run routes or anything like that, but I have been in the backyard catching balls.”

Jugs machines can cost upwards of $4,000, but the expensive gift was well worth the price. Well, at least one parent thinks so.

“That was his dad,” Shirley quipped.

Michael laughed and explained his reasoning for going with the machine over some deep dish at Giordano’s.

“Prior to him getting injured, he had Boom (club 7-on-7) and other outlets for staying busy,” Michael said. “We talked about what we could do to get him focused and keep him busy. The Jugs machine makes sense. It will help with his recovery but doesn’t require a lot of movement. It will also help with his skillset — hands, catching the ball from different angles and things like that.”

While it may not look like it on the surface, the injury has been a bit of a blessing in disguise. Tyler transferred to Plainfield (Ill.) East this offseason and has been serving as somewhat a volunteer assistant, which allows him to work closely with his younger brother, Quinn.

A freshman on varsity, Quinn is having a breakout season and quickly making a name for himself in recruiting circles. Tyler has been at several practices as well as every game this fall. While Tyler certainly wishes he could be making plays on Friday night, he’s embracing his situation.

“As bad as it sounds, I can only focus on what I can control,” Tyler said. “It has been sad sometimes, but it’s also been cool to be back at public school with kids I went to middle school with and to watch my brother play varsity football, which wouldn’t have happened before. I’ve been going to his practices a lot and working with the receivers. I’ve been on the sideline giving him tips. It’s been good to be able to do that.”

The transfer to Plainfield East will also allow Tyler to finish up his high school classes in December and enroll early at Michigan, something that likely would have been impossible had he stayed at Nazareth Academy, which has restrictions on early graduation.

Tyler is excited about the opportunity to get a head start on his college career in Ann Arbor and can’t wait to get back on the field.

“Just being able to relax a little bit and knowing for sure I can go early is big for me,” Tyler said. “It was something we were trying to figure out at Naz, but now that I can for sure is a big weight off my shoulders. Now, I get an extra six months, where I can add weight to my body and get bigger, faster, stronger and learning the playbook. The biggest things are being physically and mentally ready before the season starts.”

Between the pandemic and the injury, Tyler has only played in three football games since the end of his sophomore campaign.

As he gets ready to embark on the next chapter of his life, Tyler, who is slated to be cleared in January, is more motivated than ever. When the time comes to take the field in The Big House for the first time, Tyler will be ready. That’s a guarantee.

“I’m the type of person that likes to prove a point and work hard,” Tyler said. “Being apart from everything pushes me that much more. I’m going to want to be on the field more than everybody. I’m focused on now, but in the future, it’s going to be about winning Big Ten championships and national championships and doing what I can do to help the team.”

---

• Talk about this article inside The Fort

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine

• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @JB_ Wolverine, @Clayton Sayfie, @anthonytbroome and @DrewCHallett

• Like us on Facebook