Don Bosco Prep head coach Dan Sabella has had some good offensive linemen cycle through his program in the seven years he’s been over top of it, but Rhett Morris is right up there with the best of them.
Morris, 6-foot-3, 305-pounds, comes from a football family with his father being a very good college football player that spent time at the semi-professional level and the Bosco coaching staff was able to identify him early on when he was in middle school.
“He grew up not too far from our campus here about 10-15 minutes away and we got to see him play a couple times as an eighth grader and he really just developed each and every year,” Sabella said. “Has a lot of upside to him.”
The Rivals.com three-star prospect early on proved to be a big, strong kid who loved the grind and embraced his role on the offensive line from the start. Morris understands his role and while he isn’t going to have his picture in the paper or be up on the jumbotron ,recognizes the importance of doing his job on offense.
“He plays with a chip on his shoulder, he finishes his blocks when he has the opportunity to, and he wants to be the aggressor, not more of the finesse type guy. He doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty,” he said.
Morris started as a sophomore for Don Bosco, a feat that is no easy task at the school. A natural center that is very good at snapping and identifying fronts, Sabella has utilized the versatility of Morris and slotted him at guard where he has been highly effective.
“Quite frankly he’s been our best player,” Sabella said.
Morris is already well-developed at this stage of his high school career with strong numbers in the weight room and on the field. That is a testament to the work that he’s put in to develop his craft and has been aided by the competition that he has gone against throughout his career.
That’s why it was no surprise to Sabella that he became a target of major college programs.
“I think we felt that way all along for the most part. He’s been pretty well traveled just as far as playing against some teams from our state and some good competition and on the practice field going against some of our own guys. He made it clear as a young guy that was his goal and he’s put the work in, and his performance has backed it up. You’ve seen the development over time, and he’s got plenty of upside left to him,” he said.
On the field, Morris is a vocal player who is a model teammate. Sabella expects that he will bring a lot of personality to the West Virginia offensive line room.
And while like most young guys Morris wants to have fun away from the field, he keeps football at the top of his priority list.
“Football is a big part of what he does. He’s always looking to train or on his technique with an offensive line coach. Football is a big part of his off the field life as well,” he said.
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