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In their first meeting, the Wildcat ran wild. Miami's star running back and New England's head coach tackle the unorthodox formation. Plus, news and notes from Wednesday's practice.
Married to Leslie with two daughters, Kiera and Jadyn, and a son, Sammy IV ... Attended John Jay High School in San Antonio, where he was named San Antonio Offensive Player of the Year by the Express-News and the District 28-5A MVP as a senior ... Played both quarterback and running back during his prep career ... Has participated in the Dolphins charity fishing tournament, which benefits the Miami Dolphins Foundation ... Was very active in the community during his tenure in Buffalo ... All four seasons, served as a spokesperson for “Hit the Books” summer reading program in which he visited libraries throughout western New York in July to help promote literacy ... Also was active with “Athletes in Action” and many holiday functions sponsored by the Bills ... Father, Samuel II, was a staff sergeant in the Air Force ... Full name is Samuel Morris III, born March 23, 1977 in San Antonio, Texas.
Career Overview
Morris, 29, is a veteran of seven NFL seasons and joins the Patriots after three seasons with the Miami Dolphins. The 6-foot, 218-pound running back was originally drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft out of Texas Tech. In seven seasons, he has rushed for 1,469 yards and scored 14 touchdowns on 374 carries. He also has 112 receptions for 792 yards. He played the first four seasons of his career with the Bills, starting nine of 53 games at running back. He signed with the Dolphins as an unrestricted free agent in 2004. In three seasons with the Dolphins, he started 14 of the 41 games played, rushing for 1,081 yards and eight touchdowns on 240 carries. He also had 51 receptions as a Dolphin. Last December, he started four games for the Dolphins and rushed for 255 yards on 63 carries (4.1 avg.), including a 123-yard rushing performance on 25 carries (4.9 avg.) against the New England Patriots. He finished the 2006 season with a career-high season average of 4.3 yard per carry.
2006 Season
(Miami Dolphins): Started four games for the Dolphins and rushed for 255 yards on 63 carries (4.1 avg.), including a 123-yard rushing performance on 25 carries (4.9 avg.) against the New England Patriots. He finished the 2006 season with a career-high season average of 4.3 yard per carry.
2005 Season
(Miami Dolphins): Played in all 16 games, including two starts ... Rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts and caught eight passes for 54 yards ... Led team with 16 tackles on special teams, where he also forced a fumble ... Rushed for 14 yards on two carries in opener vs. Denver (9/11), including a nine-yard TD run in the fourth quarter that gave the Dolphins a 20-3 lead in their 34-10 victory ... Carried four times for a season-high 23 yards the following week at N.Y. Jets (9/18) ... Had one reception for a season-long 18-yard gain vs. Carolina (9/25) ... Opened at fullback in games at New Orleans (10/30) and vs. Atlanta (11/6) ... Turned in top special teams performance of the year in 23-21 win at San Diego (12/11), when he posted four tackles and a forced fumble ... Stripped the ball from Darren Sproles on a kickoff return in the third quarter, as Olindo Mare recovered at the Chargers’ 24, leading to an eight-yard TD pass from Gus Frerotte to Chris Chambers three plays later, giving the Dolphins a 13-7 lead ... Registered three special teams tackles the following week vs. N.Y. Jets (12/18) and in finale at New England (1/1/06).
2004 Season
(Miami Dolphins): Joined the Dolphins from Buffalo to serve primarily as a third-down back, backup fullback and special teamer ... Injuries thrust him into the starting lineup at running back for much of the year and responded with his best NFL season ... Started eight of the 13 games in which he played ... Was inactive for three contests ... Led team with career-high figures of 523 yards rushing and six touchdowns on 132 attempts ... Average per rush attempt of 4.0 also was the best of his NFL career ... Added 22 receptions for 124 yards and one kickoff return for 27 yards ... Sustained an ankle injury in opener vs. Tennessee (9/11) and was inactive two weeks later vs. Pittsburgh (9/26).
2003 Season
(Buffalo Bills): Played in nine games, all in a reserve role with the Bills ... Was inactive for seven contests ... Rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and caught 14 passes for 100 yards ... Added six kickoff returns for a 24.3-yard average with a long of 52 and nine tackles on special teams ... Recorded a career-long 52-yard kickoff return at Jacksonville (9/14) ... Was inactive for each of the next five games with a groin injury.
2002 Season
(Buffalo Bills): Played in all 16 games in a reserve role ... Served as Buffalo’s special teams captain for the second year in a row ... Rushed for five yards on two attempts and registered three receptions for 48 yards ... Led the Bills’ special teams with 31 tackles ... Had a season-high five special teams tackles at Denver (9/22).
2001 Season
(Buffalo Bills): Played in all 16 games, including one start ... Rushed for 72 yards on 20 carries and had seven receptions for 36 yards ... Served as a captain on special teams and led that unit with 28 tackles ... Lone start of the year came vs. N.Y. Jets (10/7).
2000 Season
(Buffalo Bills): Played in 12 games, including eight starts in his rookie season ... Rushed for 341 yards and five touchdowns on 93 attempts and caught 37 passes for 268 yards and a score ... Contributed 11 tackles on special teams ... Rushing total ranked third on the team, while his reception figure was fourth on the club and tops among running backs.
College
Played two seasons at Texas Tech (1996, 1999) ... Played in nine games as a senior when he served as team captain ... Was second on the team that year with 562 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 140 carries ... Tallied 23 receptions for 386 yards and two touchdowns ... Sat out his entire junior season because of NCAA ineligibility ... Was named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the fall semester ... Earned the team’s Clint Ramsey Academic Effort Award following the season ... Appeared in the first eight games of his redshirt freshman season of 1996 and rushed for 226 yards and four touchdowns on 29 attempts ... Majored in communications.
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