Morris commits to Ball State
Vernon Hills (Ill.) senior tight end/outside linebacker recruit Justin Morris (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) decided to wrap up his recruiting process today and gave the Ball State Cardinals his verbal commitment. Morris discusses his college decision here.
"From very early on Ball State made me feel wanted and in a lot of ways was the easy choice for me," Morris said. "Also just being a part of the incoming Ball State recruiting class which is a very strong group was another factor in my decision."
Morris discussed a few other key factors in his college choice.
"Ball State was one of the few schools I was able to make a visit to see in person. I went to Ball State in late January before COVID and just getting to see and experience the campus and get to know the coaches and learn more about Ball State played a big factor in my decision. Ball State actually offered me and recruited me as an outside linebacker. The coaches at Ball State said they liked me at linebacker since after my sophomore season and I'm totally comfortable playing outside linebacker in college. I've played outside linebacker in the past and I'm hoping to play outside linebacker again this coming spring."
Morris also looked hard at his top schools before deciding on Ball State.
"My top schools included Ball State along with Eastern Michigan, Harvard and Yale. We made a trip out to Boston earlier this summer and I was able to visit both Harvard and Yale. Both schools are very impressive and offer great academics, and I had some serious talks with my family about playing in the Ivy League. In the end, it was the mix of distance, playing at the highest level possible along with it being hard to passing up a free education. The overall mix and fit for me at Ball State was too hard for me to pass up, but it was not an easy decision. Also having my teammate (LB Jackson Wiegold) already committed was another big plus."
So how big of a factor was COVID along with the IHSA moving football from the fall to the spring?
"COVID played a little bit of a factor in my recruiting. I wasn't able to make a lot of visits and the few COVID visits I did make didn't allow me to talk with the coaches or see any facilities. I knew pretty early on that Ball State was the team to beat for me, so in some ways the impact of COVID wasn't as great for me as for several other kids. The IHSA moving football from the fall to the spring impacted my decision time frame a little bit. It gave me a little bit more time to consider everything before announcing my decision."
So what was the hardest part of the recruiting process for Morris?
"Making the decision between playing in the MAC versus playing in the Ivy League. I had to make some hard choices and decisions and my family and I spent a lot fo time talking about everything. In the end I'm just happy and excited about my decision to go to Ball State."
Morris is now the fifth known Land of Lincoln commitment for Ball State. in the Class of 2021 and joins Glenbrook North TE Drayton Charlton Perrin, Nazareth Academy DL Drew Hughes, Loyola Academy RB Vaughn Pemberton and Vernon Hills LB Jackson Wiegold as verbal pledges from the State of Illinois.
Justin Morris is verbally committed to Ball State.