Michigan State tapped into the farmland north of the campus/capital area to harvest a home-grown freak of a kicking specialist, Thursday, when Evan Morris of Ovid-Elsie committed to the Spartans as a member of the 2019 recruiting class.
It’s unclear whether Morris will be a scholarship recruit or a preferred walk-on with a chance to earn a scholarship in the future, but he will embark on his college career with an excellent chance to compete for a role at some point.
Morris, a left-footed kicker, has national-class ability as a kickoff specialist and a rugby-style punter, an extremely rare double-duty talent.
The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Morris performed to rave reviews at the Kohl’s Kicking Camp Midwest Showcase in Chicago during the off-season.
“Morris has shown to consistently have the strongest leg in the country on kickoffs,” Jamie Kohl wrote on the Kohl’s Kicking Camps web site. “Morris is one of the very few players in high school or college who can hit 4.5 hang-times on kickoffs.”
Rugby-style punting, or “roll-out” punting, is brand new to Morris, but the lanky, athletic lefty has become a quick study in that discipline. He has worked with Kohl’s Kicking Camp staff member Joe Gardener, a former Australian Rules Football player, on roll-out punting.
“He was hitting 50- to 60-yard roll-out punts with very little knowledge on the topic this May,” Kohl wrote in the Morris scouting bio. “He has been working with coach Joe Gardener this summer to improve his roll out punting as well as his ‘in the pocket’ punting.
“His upside is tremendous!” Kohl continued in the scouting report. “Morris has shown progress in the pocket by finishing in the top 20 at the National Scholarship Camp in punting. He is currently undervalued and if he can continue to develop more consistency in punting from the pocket he will be a special weapon in college!”
In additon to being considered the top kickoff specialist and best American "roll-out" punter in the nation, he is also ranked the No. 20 punter and No. 37 place kicker by Kohl.
COMP’S TAKE: Michigan State has rarely offered scholarships to kickoff specialists. Cole Hahn was the first high school prospect of the Mark Dantonio era to receive a scholarship offer as a kickoff specialist when he became a late addition to the 2017 recruiting class. Hahn redshirted last year and won the kickoff job this year.
If Morris redshirts at Michigan State during his rookie year, Morris would be a redshirt-freshman in 2020, Hahn’s junior year, creating palatable class separation between the two.
In the meantime, Morris has the potential to compete for the punting job next year. Jake Hartbarger is due to graduate after this season, unless he petitions for a sixth year of eligibility due to injury. Three walk-on punters have competed to step in for Hartbarger this fall after Hartbarger went down with an injury during the Arizona State game. Hartbarger could return later in the year.
Walk-ons Tyler Hunt and Bryce Baringer shared punting duty in MSU’s game at Indiana. Hunt emerged as the primary punter against Central Michigan last week, but the situation is fluid.
True freshman walk-on Will Przystup was recruited out of Oviedo, Fla., last year, as a leading candidate to succeed Hartbarger and potentially go on scholarship in the future. However, Przystup apparently has been overshadowed by Hunt and Baringer thus far in practice. Przystup was on MSU’s dress last for the game against Central Michigan last weekend.
At this point, Hunt, Baringer and Przystup are likely to battle for the punting duties next year, possibly with Morris emerging as a rugby-style change-up option.
Morris’ leg strength serves him well on field goals, too. He hit a 50-yarder for Ovid-Else last season, setting a school record.
He is also a pretty good outside linebacker and tight end for Ovid-Elsie.
With his 6-foot-6 frame, and ability to play tight end and edge linebacker, he reminds me of former Spartan great Josh Butland, who was an All-Big Ten punter in the late 1980s. Butland was a terrific high school lineman and could hang with the offensive linemen at Michigan State in the bench press. Michigan State considered turning him into an offensive lineman early in his career with the Spartans.
Morris isn’t a college prospect as a lineman the way Butland was, but Morris’ versatility on the football field is extraordinary. He seems like a sure thing to help with kickoffs at some point in his career and an attractive option as a rugby punter, especially when the ball is on the left hash. With his penchant for learning and adapting, don’t bet against his ability to keep improving as an in-the-pocket punter, the way Butland did. And don’t count him out as a place kicker, for that matter.
He’s a big-framed kid with uncommon talent. He’s the type of guy you add to the program and wait a couple of years to see what he becomes. Anything is possible with a prospect like this. The important part was identifying him as a small-town, back-yard, big-league prospect, building a relationship with him, getting him to commit, and not allowing him to leave Mid-Michigan. From there, we’ll wait and see what he can become as part of this 2019 crop of commitments.
SCOUTING VIDEOS
Morris was labeled the "Best American Roll-Out Punter" by Kohl's Kicking Camps in the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=lVzIs7Jbcf0
