March 7, 2014
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa football senior linebacker James Morris has been awarded a $7,500 postgraduate scholarship by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The announcement was made Friday by the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Committee.
Morris, a native of Solon, Iowa, will earn his degree in May. He carries a 3.87 grade point average and is majoring in political science. Morris previously was named to the Capital One Academic All-America first team and was named a National Football Scholar-Athlete by the National Football Foundation. He has earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition three consecutive years. He was presented the Third House Scholar Award last spring by the University of Iowa political science department.
Morris earned an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship by being named a National Football Scholar-Athlete. In addition, the Lott Trophy Committee contributed $5,000 to the UI general scholarship fund as a result of naming Morris one of four finalists for Lott Trophy. He was also one of 12 finalists for the Wuerffel Trophy.
Morris recently completed his playing career as the Hawkeyes concluded the 2013 season with an 8-5 overall record following their appearance in the 2014 Outback Bowl. He moved into Iowa’s starting lineup early in his freshman season and started 42 career games. Morris totaled 400 career tackles, ranking sixth on Iowa’s career chart.
Morris ranked second on the team with 107 tackles in 2013. He earned second team All-Big Ten honors and was the Iowa recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. Morris led the Hawkeyes in sacks (8), tackles for loss (18) and interceptions (4), becoming the first linebacker to lead Iowa in interceptions since the stat was first kept in 1986.
He was named Big Ten defensive Player of the Week for his play in Iowa’s win at Minnesota (Sept. 28) and the overtime win against Northwestern in Kinnick Stadium (Oct. 26).