Morris catches on (with Iowa cumulative stats)

IOWA CITY -- In an interview this summer, James Morris swore up and down that he can catch the football.

He was an offensive machine with three state championships as a running back at Solon High School. Then, as a freshman middle linebacker for the Hawkeyes last year, Morris dropped a few interceptions he thought he should've had.

The 6-foot-2, 227-pounder crossed that off the list Saturday, picking off his first career intercption and returning it 52 yards to set up a field goal in Iowa's 34-7 victory over Tennessee Tech.

"I felt bad because I dropped so many interceptions last year," Morris said. "I did beat myself up over it, so it's kind of nice to get the monkey off my back."

The Hawkeyes picked off two passes against Tech. Late in the second quarter, cornerback Shaun Prater returned an interception 89 yards for a TD.

Morris almost made it all the way into the end zone. He was snagged at the 9.

"I was stuck in third gear and I couldn't find fifth," said Morris, who had 10 tackles to go along with the pick.

Iowa's defense kept Tech from finding most any gear, until the second unit allowed a 76-yard TD drive in the fourth quarter. Forget the score and the stats in this game for Iowa's defense. The most important thing it can take away is that this is an offense it will see several more times this season.

"Michigan, Iowa State, Northwestern," said Prater, whose TD return was the second of his career. "I'm glad we played a team like this that is fast-paced. Hopefully, we can learn from it."

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