It was earlier this month when former Michigan Wolverines backup quarterback Shane Morris made it official that he was departing the program as a graduate and transferring elsewhere to finish his collegiate career. On Saturday, he announced via Twitter that he is going to head up the road for Mount Pleasant and play the 2017 season for the Central Michigan Chippewas.
Shane Morris says he's transferring to Central Michigan https://t.co/00dBKDFgIS
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) January 21, 2017
Proud to say that I will finish my collegiate football career playing at Central Michigan University. #FireUp🔥☝🏽 pic.twitter.com/qYJcXTWjVL
— Shane Morris (@ShaneMorris_7) January 21, 2017
Morris in his Michigan career played in 11 games, completing 47 of his 92 pass attempts for 434 yards. He never really could find his way into the starting role consistently enough, having only earned two starts in his four seasons at Michigan. He opted for the redshirt route in the 2015 season and dropped to the third-string QB this past season, behind starter Wilton Speight, and backup and former Houston transfer John O’Korn.
Both Speight and O’Korn are expected to return next year, as is freshman Brandon Peters, who took a redshirt this season. The team also has incoming 5-star freshman Dylan McCaffrey next season as well, making it a much easier decision for Morris.
Central Michigan meanwhile is coming off a 6-7 season and a 55-10 drubbing in the Miami Beach Bowl at the hands of Tulsa. The program is about as average as one can get over the last fine seasons, a combined 33-31 record since 2012. Departing this year’s team is prolific senior quarterback Cooper Rush, who leaves CMU as the school’s second-best all-time passer with 12,891 passing yards.
Central currently has four other quarterbacks on the roster, all of who are either freshmen or sophomores. There are currently no quarterbacks as part of their 18 commits for the Class of 2017.
**Stats and team information courtesy of Sports-Reference
**Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports
**Feature image courtesy of MGoBlog on Flickr