Morris Named Lott Impact Player Of The Week

Oct. 29, 2013

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — University of Iowa linebacker James Morris has been named the Lott IMPACT Player of the Week. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound senior from Solon, Iowa, had eight tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery in Iowa’s 17-10 overtime win over Northwestern on Saturday in Kinnick Stadium.

Morris is one of 20 quarterfinalists for the annual Lott IMPACT Trophy, which will be presented Dec. 8 in Newport Beach, Calif. 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-America honors as a junior, while 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 with a 3.8 GPA.

This season, Morris leads the Hawkeyes in tackles for loss (7.5), sacks (4) and interceptions (3). He has 64 tackles on the year and 357 career tackles to rank eighth in school history. He is also the current Big Ten Conference defensive Player of the Week, an honor he also earned following Iowa’s 23-7 win at Minnesota earlier this season.

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.

Iowa (5-3, 2-2) hosts Wisconsin (5-2, 2-1) Saturday at 11:06 a.m. (ABC/ESPN2). A limited number of single tickets remain for the annual “Blackout Game”. Student tickets are $50 (two allowed per student) and general public tickets are $65. Tickets can be purchased at hawkeyesports.com, by calling 1-800-IA-HAWKS, or in person at the UI athletics ticket office in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

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