Nebraska signed a pair of promising slot receivers in the 2023 class with Jaylen Lloyd and Jaidyn Doss seemingly having bright futures ahead.
The staff continued to stockpile the position by adding Bellevue West standout Isaiah McMorris.
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound McMorris – who is related to former Huskers Ahman Green and Niles Paul – is one of the state’s best three-sport athletes. He’s one of the top sprinters in the state with PRs of 10.65 (100m), 22.65 (200m) and 7.07 (60m), while also being a member of the 4×100 relay team. McMorris has also jumped 20′ 10.75″ in the long jump.
He’s also a standout on the hardwood and is attempting to win his fourth straight championship in basketball. McMorris played his first two years of high school at Millard North, where the Mustangs went 27-2 and 26-2 during his freshman and sophomore campaigns, respectively, and he helped Bellevue West go 29-0 as a junior. The Thunderbirds are currently 18-1 and ranked No. 1.
McMorris spent his first two years playing wingback in Millard North’s run-heavy offense where his immense skill set was under-utilized. Isaiah had been a running back since he started playing football at 5, but wanted to give receiver a chance.
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He picked Bellevue West because the T-Birds had developed elite receivers over the years like Zavier Betts, Cade Johnson and Kaden Helms. They also ran a high-powered spread system that he thought would be a perfect fit for him.
McMorris transferred ahead of his junior year and exploded onto the scene, enjoying one of the greatest receiving seasons in state history. He finished with a state-record 90 catches for 1,297 yards and 14 touchdowns on his way to earning first-team All-Nebraska and first-team Super State honors.
If it hadn’t been for the turmoil the Husker program was navigating through early in the 2022 season, McMorris probably would have been offered earlier. Texas Tech, Kansas, Kansas State and Penn State all beat the Huskers to the punch. Mickey Joseph was the one who finally offered McMorris on Nov. 13, 2022, while he was still the interim head coach.
Unlike his friend and teammate Dae’vonn Hall, McMorris was eager to get to know the new Husker staff after Matt Rhule was hired less than two weeks after receiving his offer. He made sure to attend Rhule’s inaugural in-state recruiting event that took place Dec. 4, 2022, less than two weeks after he was hired. Rhule made it clear from the beginning that McMorris was a priority and one of his top targets for the cycle.
Not long after the recruiting meet-and-greet, McMorris earned additional Power Five offers from Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Oklahoma, USC and Wisconsin.
As his recruitment entered the early spring months, McMorris’ top teams were Oklahoma, USC and Penn State. The Huskers were firmly on the outside looking in. To his credit, though, McMorris never shut the door on the new staff and continued to make trips to Lincoln to get to know Rhule and receivers coach Garret McGuire.
McMorris made trips to campus in early March and then again for the Red-White spring game in April. Even so, the Huskers were facing an uphill battle to overcome pushes from the Sooners and Trojans.
Husker coaches persisted and received a huge assist following the May commitment of Daniel Kaelin, McMorris’ friend and Bellevue West’s star quarterback. Kaelin immediately turned his peer recruiting lens toward his dynamic receiving duo McMorris and Hall.
McMorris continued to talk with McGuire almost daily while Matt Rhule made sure to check in every few days, while also talking to his parents weekly.
The turning point in his recruitment came when he attended Rhule’s first Husker camp on June 10. McMorris wanted to get first-hand experience into how McGuire coaches. Nebraska’s receivers coach put him through a rigorous hour-long workout of routes and drills with individual teaching between repetitions. McMorris ran routes into defenses and caught passes from Jeff Sims. McGuire instructed him after a series of routes before McMorris would begin again.
The intimate one-on-one training and attention he got at that camp left a huge mark and ultimately sealed the deal. Like Dae’vonn Hall, McMorris committed to Husker coaches earlier in the week but waited until June 23 to announce it publicly.
Injuries cut into his senior season, limiting him to just eight games. He finished with 44 catches for 576 yards and eight touchdowns, and was a first-team Super State pick by the Lincoln Journal Star and a second-team All-Nebraska selection by the Omaha World-Herald.
McMorris is a nightmare for defensive backs. Not only does he possess game-breaking speed, but he’s one of the twitchiest players in this class. If he gets the ball in space in the open field he’s a threat to make a house call.
With his background as a running back, there’s a bit of a Wan’Dale Robinson quality to his game and he can be used in much the same way. Husker coaches have told him as much.
With fellow slot guys Jaylen Lloyd and Jaidyn Doss having a year’s experience on him and McMorris not arriving until summer, it might be difficult for him to see more than the four games a redshirt season allows. But I’m high on his upside and anticipate him having a large role moving forward in his career.
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