JOURNAL SPORTS
Some of football’s greatest running backs have lined up for the Syracuse Orangemen, and one of that program’s all-time heroes put on a show in Shreveport’s bowl game.
Joe Morris is being spotlighted as Number 17 on the Independence Bowl’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, chosen by a local media panel. The game’s top 50 players in the first 49 years of the contest were selected this summer and are being announced in the run-up to the 50th Anniversary I-Bowl Dec. 22.
Morris has spent 46 years in the Independence Bowl’s record book as one of its all-time leading rushers.
Morris, named 1979 Offensive Player of the Game in Syracuse’s 31-7 victory over McNeese State, is still third on the bowl’s list for most rushing carries in a game (33). He rushed for 155 yards on those 33 totes, holding the record for the most rushing yards in a single Independence Bowl until 1995. He remained in the top five of individual rushing performances until 2013, and his 155 rushing yards currently rank eighth all-time in a single Independence Bowl.
Playing at Syracuse after a few all-time greats, including Jim Brown and Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis, Morris made his stamp on the program in his four years in upstate New York. He broke the 1,000-yard rushing mark three of his four seasons.
The 1979 Independence Bowl season, his sophomore year, was his best season for the Orange – rushing for 1,372 yards and seven touchdowns. He was named first-team All-East that season. He was also named second-team All-East in 1981, when he rushed for 1,194 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Morris, a four-year starter for the Orange, set the Syracuse record for career rushing yards with 4,229. His No. 47 is also one of eight numbers the program has retired.
Despite standing just 5-foot-7, he was selected in the second round of the 1982 NFL Draft and became an integral piece of some great New York Giants squads in the 1980s under Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells. After limited carries in his first couple of years in the NFL, Morris averaged 1,021 rushing yards per season between 1984 and 1988 as the Giants emerged as championship contenders.
Morris’ best two seasons came back-to-back in 1985 and 1986, as he made both Pro Bowl appearances of his career. He compiled 1,336 rushing yards and a league-leading 21 rushing touchdowns in 1985, and in 1986, he had the most rushing yards of his career with 1,516. He was named first-team All-Pro.
The shining moment of Morris’ professional career was winning Super Bowl XXI in the 1986-87 season. He was stellar in the postseason that year, rushing for 313 yards in three playoff games. He had 67 rushing yards, 20 receiving yards and a touchdown in the Giants’ Super Bowl victory over the Denver Broncos.
Morris is a member of the New York Giants Ring of Honor and was named the 38th greatest New York Giant of all time.
Another player on the Independence Bowl’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, No. 16, will be announced next Monday. Players will be revealed individually every week, with No. 1 being announced on Monday, December 7.
Players already unveiled on the Independence Bowl’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team:
No. 18 – Ray Childress (DT, Texas A&M, 1981); No. 19 – Sidney Rice (WR, South Carolina, 2005);
No. 20 – Brad Smith (QB, Missouri, 2003 and 2005); No. 21 – Derrick Mason (WR, Michigan State, 1995); No. 22 – Garrison Hearst (RB, Georgia, 1991); No. 23 – Jacob Rodriguez (LB, Texas Tech, 2023); No. 24 – Tim Krumrie (NG, Wisconsin, 1982); No. 25 – Muhsin Muhammad (WR, Michigan State, 1995); No. 26 – Ja’Mar Toombs (RB, Texas A&M, 2000); No. 27 – Otis Wilson (LB, Louisville, 1977); No. 28 – A.J. Green (WR, Georgia, 2009); No. 29 – Rocky Calmus (LB – Oklahoma, 1999); No. 30 – Flozell Adams (OT – Michigan State, 1995);
No. 31 – Willie Blade (DT, Mississippi State, 2000); No. 32 – Scott Thomas (S, Air Force, 1983 & 1984); No. 33 – Chad Hennings (DT, Air Force, 1984); No. 34 — Dameyune Craig (QB, Auburn, 1996); No. 35 – Geno Atkins (DT, Georgia, 2009); No. 36 – Rondell Mealey (RB, LSU, 1997); No. 37 – Rolando McClain (LB, Alabama, 2007); No. 38 – Weldon Brown (CB, Louisiana Tech, 2008); No. 39 – Andre Smith (OT, Alabama, 2006 & 2007; No. 40 – Tiki Barber (RB, Virginia, 1994);
No. 41 – Puka Nacua (WR, BYU, 2021); No. 42 – Gary Kubiak (QB; Texas A&M, 1981); No. 43 — Seneca Wallace (QB, Iowa State, 2001); No. 44 – Todd McClure (C, LSU, 1995 & 1997); No. 45 – Gary Anderson (K, Syracuse, 1979); No. 46 – Booger McFarland (LB, LSU, 1995 & 1997); No. 47 – Tremaine Edmunds (LB – Virginia Tech, 2015); No. 48 – Bill Musgrave (QB – Oregon, 1989); No. 49 – Larry Anderson (DB – Louisiana Tech, 1977); No. 50 – Lorenza Baker (LB – Louisiana Tech, 1990).