‘Something special:’ Plainfield East’s Quinn Morris looks to continue family lineage

Plainfield East’s Quinn Morris already has taken a fairly accelerated path to high school football.

Fortunately for Morris, he’s got some pretty good tutoring to help him make the transition.

Quinn Morris is the younger brother of Tyler Morris, a former Nazareth standout who is committed to continue his football career at the University of Michigan. Tyler Morris is spending his senior year at Plainfield East but did not play in the fall because of an ACL injury he suffered during his junior season while at Nazareth.

Quinn Morris already is building his resume. Elevated to the Plainfield East varsity as a 5-foot-10, 140-pound freshman, the talented athlete payed dividends right away, eventually accounting for 21 receptions, 331 yards and three scores as a wide receiver, and he notched nine tackles, including one for loss, and an interception as a defensive back.

“It definitely went better than I thought,” Quinn Morris said of his freshman season. “I came in as a freshman thinking I’m never getting the ball, I’m a little kid and nobody is going to look at me, but halfway through the season I felt solid.

“It was mostly about learning about the level of competition, how to adjust to playing bigger dudes and dodging contact.”

According to his high school coach, that was a transition Quinn Morris made pretty quick.

“The first day of practice he came in and he starting working with our wide receiver coach (Bill Miller). He went through drills that day, and he (Miller) came over to me and said, ‘He might be our best player by the end of the year,’ ” Plainfield East coach Brad Kunz said. “There’s the, ‘Oh, his brother is a great player,’ but that had nothing to do with it.

“He came in and he was so mature with the way he worked and the way he carried himself and the way that he made plays, and he was consistent. I think the consistency part you don’t always get in freshman, and that was there from Day 1.”

Quinn Morris’ most recent opportunity to continue the evolution of his game came at the Edgy Tim underclassmen showcase in January. Hes felt he put forward a better showing than he had at other events, largely because of just finding a better comfort level.

“I feel like I did better. I feel like I was more ready for today. I liked the competition here,” Quinn Morris said after the event. “I didn’t feel like I did well at the BOOM Showcase, and today I feel like I used my skill more.”

Those are skills he hopes to continue to develop while also cultivating what he learns from older brother Tyler, as he hopes to cut a similar path.

“He’s given me a lot of advice about how to play football and be good on social media, and I’m just trying to follow in his footsteps,” Morris said. “I go through his film once in awhile and see what different things he has done. ... I know he has good body control, so I’m trying to use his skill and put it into my game.”

Quinn Morris is already looking forward to seeing how much of a step up he can make as a sophomore and has the added bonus of continuing to develop a rapport with quarterback Brandon Parades, who also got varsity repetitions at Plainfield East as a freshman.

“We having been playing together since the fourth grade,” Quinn Morris said. “So our chemistry has always been good leading up to this year. I think it helped make the transition easier for both of us.”

It’s a development process that Kunz is looking forward to fostering.

“You can see that there’s something special,” Kunz said. “Development-wise he’s just scratching the surface of what he could become.”