After missing spring, ODU transfer Amorie Morrison IS ready to play big role on UAB DL
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - July 31, 2025
Amorie Morrison garnered some attention in college football by getting after the quarterback. It could have been a different story. He could have been the one being chased.
Morrison played on both sides of the football at Salem High in Virginia Beach. On offense, he was good enough at quarterback to get some recruiting interest at that position. Nearby Old Dominion was one of the programs that offered him a chance a quarterback, so he made the short trip from home to give it a shot.
“Yeah, I had an arm, I could throw the ball,” Morrison said.
However, there was one important roadblock to that plan.
“It was just, I was definitely better on defense,” Morrison said.
Morrison was listed as a 6-foot-4, 235-pound defensive end as a true freshman at Old Dominion in 2020. He is now set to finish his college football career as a 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end at UAB. The foundation for his path through college football as a defensive end was built during a 2020 season that never got underway for ODU. The Monarchs were one of three FBS teams, joining UConn and New Mexico State, to cancel the season because of the Covid-19 pandemic before playing a game. Morrison used that time to work on becoming a difference-making defensive end.
“All that time, we were just practicing,” Morrison said. “I felt like my game and my confidence grew just practicing against best on best. It really got me ready for my freshman year.”
During his freshman season in 2021, Morrison had 32 tackles, 3.5 sacks and five tackles for loss while playing in all 12 games with seven starts. His first career sack came in the season opener against Wake Forest. After the season, he was selected to the C-USA All-Freshman team. His 2022 season ended after three games after an injury. Over his final two seasons, he had 40 tackles, 2.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss while playing in 20 games.
He decided after the 2024 season to enter the transfer portal to find a better fit for his skills. He searched for a program that ran a four-man front after playing in a three-man front at ODU. The messages poured in after he entered the portal but there was a catch. Morrison wasn’t completely healthy.
Morrison’s final season at ODU ended because of a high ankle sprain in the 10th game of the season. An MRI revealed he also had ligament damage in his ankle and he had surgery in December.
“(My phone was busy) until they found out I had to get surgery,” Morrison said. “And then it kind of stopped. I was three days in and school's were like ‘You gotta get surgery?’ I just wanted to be honest with them, I didn't want to give them any surprises. I was like, ‘Take it as it is. If you want me, you want me, if you don't, you don't.’”
Morrison said a handful of schools stayed with him, including UAB, Memphis and Iowa State. He dropped Iowa State from his list because they employ a three-man front. At one point, he thought he was headed to Georgia Tech but he said they dropped the offer late. First-year UAB defensive line coach Sam Mills III was a big reason he chose UAB.
“He was telling him that he would get me to the league and that's my main goal,” Morrison said. “I wanted to get to the league, so I can provide, you know. He told me to believe in him, so I'm going to believe in him, you know what I'm saying. He hasn't let me down since I've been here, he knows ball, I love that about him.”
Morrison faced another obstacle after arriving at UAB when it was discovered that problems with his previously injured ankle were because of an infection. He had another surgery, which forced him to the sidelines in spring practice.
“It was definitely different because I feel like you got to earn your respect when you come in,” Morrison said. “Certain things I'd say to some guys, they’d look at me like ‘OK, I hear you, but you ain't showed me anything.’ It was definitely difficult, but I just listened to coaches.”
He’s back on the field now and working toward finding a spot in what is potentially a deep rotation. He said the depth is creating healthy competition.
“It definitely helps because you got a lot of different type of players,” Morrison said. “You have some of your speed guys, you have some of your power guys, you have some kind of both. So it's like, we can each help each other out with certain moves and stuff like that. I feel like me coming from a three-down, I can help with hand placement and really playing that run, because that's where I came from.”