© Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Alfred Morris does not talk like a two-time Pro Bowler or the ninth-leading rusher of all active NFL players.
He talks like a sixth-round pick. He talks like the proud owner of a 1991 Mazda, packed with 149,000 miles, that he bought for $2 back in college. He talks with the same humility he fostered under his mother, Yvonne, who raised seven kids while working 40-plus hour weeks and taking night classes to earn her bachelor’s degree. He remains grounded by the advice his father, Ronald, relayed to him when he grew up.
“No matter what you do,” Morris recounts Ronald telling him, “whether you are mopping floors, scoring touchdowns in the NFL, or flipping burgers, it doesn’t matter. Whatever you do, give it your all. Do it the best that has ever been done.”
That mindset has never left Morris, from Pro Bowl nods to unemployment.
He was not re-signed this offseason after spending the past two seasons in a backup role with the Dallas Cowboys. Throughout the seven months following the 2017 campaign, he trained — “dying every day,” as he calls it— to prepare him for the right opportunity he trusted would come.
Morris said he received calls from a couple NFL teams, but he did not see them as good fits. He did not feel like would be asked to contribute in a capacity he feels he is capable.
That all changed when 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, whom Morris said he loves as a person and coach, called.
Morris enjoyed the best years of his career under Shanahan in Washington. During his rookie season in 2012, he compiled 1,613 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, both of which finished second in the league behind Adrian Peterson. Morris’ rushing total was the third-most productive rookie season for any running back in NFL history. One year later, he amassed 1,275 yards and seven touchdowns. He remained with the Redskins for the following two seasons before joining the Cowboys.
The familiarity with Shanahan and his offensive system appealed to Morris. The 49ers head coach is the only person who calls him ‘Alf.’
More than anything, Morris was given an opportunity, the word he reiterates when he talks about his situation with the 49ers. Shanahan said he would not have called the veteran running back unless he had a legitimate chance to make the 53-man roster, but he was not guaranteed a spot.
“You can’t prepare for opportunity when opportunity comes,” Morris told KNBR Tuesday morning. “You need to prepare before the opportunity comes, so when it does come, you can hit the ground running.”
This past Saturday, Morris ran far better than any other 49ers running back this preseason. He rushed 17 times for 84 yards with the starters in a 23-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. His vision, ability to hit holes, and strength to plunge through contact — he converted on three separate third-and-1 opportunities — was a newfound sight in the 49ers backfield.
In a way, Morris’ running style symbolizes his personality: rugged but endearing.
“Alf always gets a little more than you block him for,” Shanahan said Sunday. “He brings a different dimension to it.”
Morris’ physical, between-the-tackles style gives the 49ers a reliable option in third-and-short scenarios. He showed that Saturday. His worst rush yielded three yards. His best went for 11.
He showed he still has plenty of gas in his legs entering his seventh NFL season. Should Morris make the team, he would help stabilize the 49ers running back corps whose top two backs — Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida — each played one preseason drive before sustaining injuries that have sidelined them ever since.
Morris aced his first audition to make the 53-man roster. He does not know whether he will have a second. Shanahan has not yet told Morris whether he will play in Thursday’s preseason finale, in which the starters rarely play, against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“In my mind, I am playing,” Morris said. “I am going to keep pushing as if every day is my last because it could be.”
Listen to Murph & Mac’s podcast with Morris below.