JOHNSTOWN —
Greater Johnstown’s Dajour Morris intends to be part of a rebuilding project at the University of Akron next fall.
The standout 6-foot-2, 295-pound Trojans two-way lineman verbally committed to play for the Zips under head coach Rob Ianello, a former Notre Dame offensive coordinator who completed his first season with a 1-11 mark. Akron went 1-7 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and will miss 16 seniors next fall.
“I’m supposed to come in immediately and play,” said Morris, who was part of back-to-back District 6 Class AAA championship teams as Johnstown went 18-6 the past two years.
“I’m not red-shirting. They want to use me at defensive tackle and defensive end and a little bit of linebacker. They want to move me around a lot.”
Morris is accustomed to moving along the line of scrimmage.
He created headaches for Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference coaches who had to devise game plans to contend with Morris’ ability to shake off blockers on defense or open holes on offense.
“With his size, the problems Dajour creates on the defensive side of the ball are evident, and offensively he can move people,” said Trojans coach Tony Penna Jr., whose team went 10-2 this season. “He is impressive. He is somebody that everybody has to game plan for. You can’t forget about where Dajour is.
“Off the field, he did the work academically. He worked with extra tutoring and taking classes to get him ready for college. Our College Access Program at Johnstown is a credit to this. He is a qualifier because of his hard work.”
Morris was part of a Johnstown offensive line that enabled the Trojans to rush for 2,227 yards and pass for another 2,420 yards. Johnstown outscored opponents 410-165.
On defense, Morris had
64 stops, with 44 solo tackles. He had two sacks and a fumble recovery.
But Penna was most impressed by the intangibles.
“The first thing you notice is his leadership,” Penna said. “The Central Cambria week will always stand out in my mind. As tough as that (14-13 upset loss) was, he was one of the first people to call me and say, ‘Coach we’re ready to go. We’re ready to make this right.’ He was so good with the kids. Before the Forest Hills game we were about to go out and stretch. I usually address the team, but before I could speak, he gave a speech. It was so good there was nothing else I could say.”
Johnstown beat previously undefeated Forest Hills 34-25
– the Rangers’ only setback until the state semifinals in Class AA.
“We have real great coaches at Johnstown. Our offensive line coach, coach (Jack) Bassett, really showed us a lot. I always worked real well with coach (Adam) Dugan, our defensive line coach. I believe that’s what enabled me to play defense in college. Coach Penna, it was wonderful having him back. He knows what to do with the players and what positions to play. Johnstown is a great place to play football. You have coaches that love you and care about you.”
Akron offensive coordinator John Latina is familiar with Johnstown. He recruited former first-team, all-state defensive back Joe Greenwood in 1984, when Latina was an assistant at Temple and Bob Arcurio was Johnstown’s head coach.
Greenwood eventually started for the Owls and later signed with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.
Zips’ defensive line coach Derrick Jackson made multiple visits to Johnstown.
“It was the coaches that gave me a real good impression,” Morris said. “Coach Arcurio told me Coach Latina is a really good man and that he recruited at Johnstown years ago. The most important thing is to get your education and that’s what Coach Latina wants for me. Their football program is being rebuilt now. They have a new coaching staff.”
Morris also had received interest from Division I programs such as Pitt, West Virginia and Temple.
“A lot of big schools were recruiting him, but some of those are in the midst of coaching changes,” Penna said. “Coach Latina loved Dajour. The defensive line coach (Jackson) came down to Johnstown to see him. He met Dajour and they had a real good meeting. They were here three times. Dajour told me, ‘Coach, it feels good. I’m going to commit.’ ”
The son of Demitrius Morris of Johnstown, he intends to major in either sports rehabilitation/exercise science at Akron.
Sports
Related Photos
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Greater Johnstown defensive lineman Dajour Morris (right) closes in on Forest Hills running back Nick Dudukovich during the Trojans’ victory on November 5. Morris has verbally committed to play for the University of Akron. Todd Berkey
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Morris plans to play on D line for Akron
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