*Mike Morris, Michigan Football News: Draft Scout Player News

08/12/22 - DE *Mike Morris, Jr/2023, Michigan

Michigan edge rusher Mike Morris feels like all eyes are on him entering this season, and that's exactly what he wants. As the Wolverines enter their first season without Aidan Hutchinson, who had a program single-season record with 14 sacks and was the No. 2 overall NFL Draft pick by Detroit and second-round draft pick David Ojabo who added 11 sacks, there's been a lot of talk about who will replace them. Players during the offseason have said it's not about being "another Aidan" or another "Jabo" as they refer to Ojabo. In the spring and since preseason camp began Aug. 3, it has been about finding new ways to get pressure on quarterbacks without trying to be someone else. After spring practice, Morris said he felt he had to be the next player to fill those shoes. "I want it to be me," Morris said at the time.

Now, a week into camp, Morris has doubled down on that approach. "I feel like who else will?" Morris said Tuesday night after practice. "I want that light on me. I never said I didn't want the light on me. I wanted to be in that light, and now I'm in that light."With that light comes expectations. Morris is more than aware of that. "I feel like a lot of eyes are on me," Morris said. "Not only by the coaches but by my teammates as well, which means a lot more to me because I have a lot of younger guys now in my position group that are looking at me like, 'What is Mike Mo doing? Let me see if I can apply what he's doing to my game and make it better.' That's the difference right now." Taking on greater expectations, wanting the spotlight and the pressure of filling in the gaps in the post-Hutchinson-Ojabo world, the 6-foot-6 Morris decided in May he needed to add weight without disrupting his speed. Last season he played at 278-280 pounds. He entered this camp weighing 292 pounds. - Detroit News

Jr/2023