BEREA, Ohio -- Trent Richardson and Alfred Morris are good friends, a couple of rookie halfbacks hailing from the same hometown who reached the NFL via different routes.

Richardson came to the Browns from a major college in the first round of the draft, the third overall selection. Morris arrived in Washington from a small school in a silver 1991 Mazda 626, a vehicle with a Kelly Blue Book value of $1,160.

The No. 173 draft pick believes the car tethers him to reality -- besides, his vintage ride equipped with stick-shift, AM/FM radio and tape deck only has about 125,000 on the odometer.

"But I've definitely put on the miles lately," Morris said in a conference call Wednesday.

He's also been racking up yards. Playing in the same backfield as rookie phenom Robert Griffin III, Morris has been one of the NFL's biggest surprises and the latest in a line of low-round, running-back gems mined by Redskins coach Mike Shanahan.

Morris ranks fourth among NFL rushers with 1,228 yards and, combined with Griffin, gives Washington the league's top ground attack. The Redskins (7-6) and the Browns (5-8) meet Sunday in a game that will feature a reunion of Morris and Richardson, a pair of Pensacola, Fla., pals who have risen from humble origins to thrive in the NFL.

It doesn't seem to bother Richardson that Morris is enjoying a more productive first season. Meanwhile, Morris says he derives no satisfaction from outpacing a running back taken 170 picks ahead of him.

"[It's] not a pride thing," said Morris, who turned 24 on Wednesday. "We're in two totally different situations, two different divisions. I don't take pride in having more rushing yards. I really don't even think about it. I'm just happy that he's doing good and that I'm doing good. ... Just to make it this far coming from where we came from is just an accomplishment in itself."

Critics will point to the success of Morris, who played at Florida Atlantic, and Tampa Bay's Doug Martin, the 31st pick last June from Boise State, as examples of why franchises should not invest high draft picks in running backs.

Richardson rates 14th among NFL rushers with 869 yards. He's recorded just two runs of 20 yards or more while missing virtually all of training camp recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery and playing the last eight games with a rib injury. The Alabama product, nevertheless, has managed to score 10 touchdowns, tied for second in the AFC behind only Houston's Arian Foster. He's also seventh among all running backs in receiving yards (348).

"I think I'm [having] a pretty good year myself," said Richardson, 21. "I'm not saying I'm satisfied. I know I can do better. But I'm not challenging anybody or hanging onto anybody's yards. I don't care what they've got. As long as we're on board with winning, it doesn't really matter."

Richardson speaks with affinity for Morris, who he's known since age 6. They played for rival little-league football programs and high schools in Pensacola, the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle with a population of roughly 52,000. Richardson said his alma mater, Escambia High, could never qualify for the playoffs because they kept losing to Morris' alma mater, Pine Forest High.

The city has put its share of athletes into the NFL, including Browns nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin and the league's all-time rusher Emmitt Smith.

"Pensacola, it's a place where you can feel like, 'I'm glad I'm from here [because] it made me and everything I do," Richardson said. "It pushed me to strive for much that I want in life."

The Browns halfback recalls Morris' large stature and long braids. He remembers him as a kid who scared many, but harmed few. Asked for a memory of the Browns rookie, Morris conjures Richardson's tree-trunk calves and imposing build. Each places great value in family. Ronald and Yvonne Morris raised seven boys and taught them the importance of sacrifice. Any wonder why an NFL star still sleeps on the living room couch when he visits his boyhood home?

"It's a three-, four-bedroom house," he said. "Usually, when we come home, there's a lot of us home. So I actually like the couch. It's pretty comfortable and I've got my own space."

Morris' humility takes many forms, including asking Santa Claus what he wants for Christmas. He was one of several Redskins to participate in a charitable event that involved writing St. Nick a letter on Tuesday.

"You give every year and it's your turn to receive, because it's not always about receiving," Morris wrote according to the DC Sports Blog.

The Redskins cannot believe the gift they have in Morris, who has six 100-yard rushing games and 41 carries of 10 yards or more. Then again, Shanahan has a history of developing late-round picks such as Terrell Davis, Olandis Gary and Mike Anderson. The Redskins coach believes he's got another good one in Morris, an every-down back who Shanahan says makes defenders miss, gains yards after contact and picks up blitzes. Morris and Griffin -- who's run for 748 yards -- have together out-rushed 28 of the league's 31 other teams.

"We feed off each other," said Morris, who's earning $390,000 this season. "Just watching him develop as a player and a quarterback he definitely doesn't carry himself like a rookie. On and off the field he carries himself like a veteran."

Morris said he and Richardson have been exchanging text messages this week. They likely will see each other in Pensacola during the off-season, Morris added.

Perhaps, they will go car shopping even as Morris vows never to get rid of the vehicle he drove into NFL celebrity.