Ex-Michigan QB Shane Morris to finish career at Central Michigan

With Wilton Speight entrenched as Michigan’s starting quarterback, Shane Morris announced earlier this month he would pursue a graduate transfer. On Saturday, Morris made his transfer destination known.

Morris is headed to the MAC to play his final season for Central Michigan, which has an opening at quarterback with the graduation of Cooper Rush, a four-year starter.

Central Michigan has played in a bowl game the past two seasons and returns many of its starters on offense, so Morris, who had spotty playing time throughout his career at Michigan, could have plenty to work with if he wins the starting job for the Chippewas.

Morris, who visited CMU last week, told The Detroit News it was “bittersweet” to leave Michigan, but he’s excited for his new opportunity.

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“I love Michigan. I’m sad to go but excited for a new beginning,” Morris said. “I want to go where I’ll play. I definitely think (I can play right away). I’ve played enough. Haven’t played a ton, started two games and have in-game experience. I have four years of practices. I definitely have enough football. I’ve had great coaches from (Al) Borges to Nuss (Doug Nussmeier to (Jedd) Fisch. They’ve all done a good job teaching things and helped me so much.”

Morris was a top 100 recruit in UM’s 2013 recruiting class, but never was able to seize the Wolverines’ starting quarterback job. He made two starts in his career and threw for 434 yards, no touchdowns and five interceptions.

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Unfortunately, what will likely be remembered most about his time at Michigan involves a brutal hit where he suffered a concussion during his second career start against Minnesota in 2014. Despite looking woozy and leaning on a teammate to remain upright after the play, he stayed in for another play. And even after he came off the field, he went back into the game for a handoff after Devin Gardner was forced to come out of the game after losing his helmet. Brady Hoke, Michigan’s head coach at the time, was widely criticized for his handling of Morris’ injury.

A few days after the incident, Michigan announced new protocols for dealing with injuries, including putting training staff in the press box to better spot injuries. The program also began to use different means of communication — two-way radios instead of hand signals — when dealing with injuries.

Morris only attempted one more pass in 2014 after the Minnesota game. He took a redshirt in 2015 and was the team’s third-string quarterback behind Speight and John O’Korn in 2016.

For more Michigan news, visit TheWolverine.com.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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