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What do you think is Stephen Morris's ceiling?

DMoney said:
canesupremacy said:
I think at best a 3rd rounder. The amount of balls that should be picked off is a ton. He does not have good vision or decision making. Accuracy can get better with practice but decision making rarely does. It's something you are born with.
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Completely disagree with this.

Morris's decision-making is very good, as several scouts and Coach Golden have pointed out. His interception rate last year was the lowest since Dorsey in 2000. He rarely throws into double coverage. He also did a phenomenal job running the no-huddle last year-- very few procedure penalties and often caught the defense out of position. Coach Golden recently spoke to WQAM about how Morris understands offensive concepts and said he will impress people at the combine with his IQ.

The issues with Morris are physical-- accuracy and touch. You are born with it to an extent, but then again Morris's accuracy isn't completely broken. I think it can improve as he becomes more settled and consistent with his footwork and fundamentals. That will also improve his redzone performance. He doesn't anticipate throws very well, either, but that is common for a quarterback with Morris's arm strength. Plenty of NFL quarterbacks had that same knock coming out.

Morris has ton going for him: sublime arm strength, toughness and character, athleticism (for a pocket passer), grip strength, whip-like delivery, familiarity with pro concepts. Expect the buzz about him to pick up around the time of the Manning Passing Academy in July.

If I'm projecting, he could go anywhere from first to fourth depending on the quality of his senior year. I'd compare him to a cross between Matthew Stafford and Jake Locker. The safe money is late second round.
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Was hoping you'd chime in. You've been on this kid from the go.
 
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I completely agree he doesn't throw in double coverage but he completely doesn't see defenders sometimes. The ball is thrown right to them. I hope I am wrong. I am a big fan of Morris the person. Good young man
 
The guy could put up some incredible numbers. There really hasn't been as talented an offense at Miami since 2002.
 
Couple of quotes on Morris from current and former scouts:

Morris turned in a career performance during the Hurricanes' last-second victory over North Carolina State. His record-setting numbers including 566 passing yards and 5 TDs. While many will focus only on the numbers, Morris looked good in all aspects of the game. The junior showed great patience, awareness and made terrific decisions in the pocket. He connected on five passes of 40 yards or more, including the game-winner of 62 yards. Morris is slowly developing into the complete package, melding his incredible physical skills into consistent, smart play at quarterback.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20...-risers-sliders-sheldon-richardson/index.html

The other night in Chicago, at halftime, a pro scout watched Morris warming up from the press.

"I like everything I see about that kid," the scout said. "You can see his thinking and his arm strength. You see the maturity in how he carries himself out there on the field."

"If he keeps growing the next couple of years like he has the past year or so, he's going to do very well for himself playing on Sundays."

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/20..._stephen-morris-miami-quarterback-bernie-kosa
 
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A major question is who else will be coming out in his draft class and how badly does a team need a qb's? This in itself can have a few round impact
 
All of this is predicated on him having the type of senior season I think he can have, which would put him in the ACC Player of the Year, and possibly the Heisman, discussion.

If there are 5 or 6 teams that decide they need a QB, he could very easily be in the mid-late first round mix. He has tools, he can run if need be, and the success of guys like Kaepernick and Wilson is going to help him. He is a 2nd or 3rd rounder if only a few teams NEED a QB...at that point, he gets drafted by someone with an aging starter (Saints, Broncos, Patriots) or a team that has a guy going into his make or break year (kind of like Josh Freeman or Jake Locker this season)
 
His development and performance this year will dictate where he's drafted. Needs to clean up his game and improve accuracy, hitting backs in stride, etc. Just too many drop off pass thrown into the ground. Seems to be a very solid group of college QBs returning, so figures to be stiff competition. Also don't buy the comparison with Stafford - he came out of high school in Dallas as the top dropback QB, immediate starter in college, huge arm, extremely confident, gunslinger mentality. Morris may have the potential and love to see it come out, but no way he measures up to Stafford at the same point in college career.
 
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DMoney said:
canesupremacy said:
I think at best a 3rd rounder. The amount of balls that should be picked off is a ton. He does not have good vision or decision making. Accuracy can get better with practice but decision making rarely does. It's something you are born with.
Click to expand...

Completely disagree with this.

Morris's decision-making is very good, as several scouts and Coach Golden have pointed out. His interception rate last year was the lowest since Dorsey in 2000. He rarely throws into double coverage. He also did a phenomenal job running the no-huddle last year-- very few procedure penalties and often caught the defense out of position. Coach Golden recently spoke to WQAM about how Morris understands offensive concepts and said he will impress people at the combine with his IQ.

The issues with Morris are physical-- accuracy and touch. You are born with it to an extent, but then again Morris's accuracy isn't completely broken. I think it can improve as he becomes more settled and consistent with his footwork and fundamentals. That will also improve his redzone performance. He doesn't anticipate throws very well, either, but that is common for a quarterback with Morris's arm strength. Plenty of NFL quarterbacks had that same knock coming out.

Morris has ton going for him: sublime arm strength, toughness and character, athleticism (for a pocket passer), grip strength, whip-like delivery, familiarity with pro concepts. Expect the buzz about him to pick up around the time of the Manning Passing Academy in July.

If I'm projecting, he could go anywhere from first to fourth depending on the quality of his senior year. I'd compare him to a cross between Matthew Stafford and Jake Locker. The safe money is late second round.
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I don't know if he's as good of a decision maker as you note. Golden's comments are to be taken in context. He's charged with the responsibility of massaging the confidence of the most important player on his team. He's not charged to make player personnel decisions.

Morris' decisions are often robotic, which is expected from a guy who's relatively raw. I'd be curious to get a number on how many times he goes to option #1 and how many of his decisions are made pre-snap. However common it may be for a strong-armed QB to not anticipate throws well, it's a top factor to consider when he makes the jump to the NFL.

I wouldn't take Morris before Round 3 right now. I hope he makes a leap this year in several categories. He needs to improve in two crucial areas: redzone and playing against tough defenses. If he does, it'll make all the difference in his draft stock.
 
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rokulika said:
Slow delivery, poor pocket presence, poor touch, poor decision making sometimes, poor performances in big games, poor record as a starter, poor completion rate, 3rd OC in 4 years.

First round for sure
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What doesn't fit?
 
pcitycane said:
to answer the OP


Ceiling? First rounder and NFL starter.
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That was the answer to the thread.

Decision making aside, you can't teach Morris' arm. Ken Dorsey knows that all too well. If Dorsey had Morris' arm he would be finishing up a stellar NFL career.
IMO A good example of a Morris type college qb and their draft prospect is Jake Locker. When he went in the first round his accuracy was average at best, but he was athletic, and could throw a football through the side of a wall.

You can teach everything but arm strength, which is why guys like Dan McGwire, Gabbart, Jason Campbell, Kyle Boller, Byron Leftwich, Grossman, Patrick Ramsey get drafted in the 1st round.

If Grossman, Ramsey and Leftwich can be 1st round picks, I don't see why Morris, with a successful senior season, can't be.
 
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JustCanesBaby said:
He's a strong armed Qb, vocal, plays passionate, needs to improve his accuracy etc. but do you think he can develop his game into a 1st round Qb?

Think about all the Qbs that have catapulted themselves into the 1st round the past couple of years (i.e. Kyle Boller, J.P. Losman, Josh Freeman) off of measureables or some perceived pre-draft hype.

I think him and Seantrel can potentially be two 1st rounders in next year's draft. If not 1st at most 2nd round.

Thoughts?
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He can be the black John Elway.
 
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The guy is the best QB pro propsect from the U in decades and decades...

The sky is the limit - he improved a lot as a 1st year starter and he should improve even more, and he has an OL and weapons.
 
I'd be saving my pennies if bet anyone SM is a first rounder. He's starting to come around and one of best Miami QBs in awhile, but Al said it right when he made the point about Morris now having to raise his game and compete nationally with the big boys. Here's just a quick look at some of the recognizable names and doesn't include pro prospects at Fresno State, Northern Illinois and a handful of under-the-radar programs. Curious to see how folks would rank them:

Johnny Manziel
Aaron Muray
Teddy Bridgewater
Tajh Boyd
Braxton Miller
AJ McCarron
Zach Metttenberger
Logan Thomas
Kevin Hogan
Jeff Driskel
Marcus Mariota
 
to be fair, how many people saw RG3 or Geno Smith(Possibly) as 1st rounders. The NFL is a QB driven league. Whether he is talented or not to go in the first round he has the raw tools to be an NFL QB. As much as people don't like Mark Whipple, he hand picked this guy. A good year statistics wise and he could soar. Especially since he is mobile, strong armed and has improved in every year. Even with 3 OCs in 4 years.
 
Oh how could he be had Jacory not been the starter and Morris got more reps?? That will always be the question to me. Of course hind sight is always easier. I think the skies the limit for young Stephen IMO. He has all the tools. Don't know if he could carry a team, but given a fair chance I believe he will succeed on Sundays. Personally, and many can call me crazy, I'd rather have him on the Dolphins then Tannehill. I think Morris has the goods.
 
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