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The kids would travel to Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) to reunite with their mom and she would return home a couple of times a year.

“We were always close,” said Morris. “(Having our mother away), no matter how far away we were, we always had a strong bond. At the time, I was a little boy … I was missing my mom, I was writing her letters with crayons. But I grew up fast, it helped me.”

With a passion for basketball and track and field, he got a late start in football, playing at Donald A. Wilson Secondary School in Whitby. He posted highlight videos on YouTube and was noticed and recruited by the Canadian Junior Football League’s Westshore Rebels in B.C. In 2011, he rushed for 1,064 yards with eight touchdowns. He tore it up the next season, with 1,496 yards rushing — in one October game, he ran for 405 yards and four touchdowns.

That success got him noticed by football coaches at the New Mexico Military Institute. There, in 2013, he rushed for 995 yards and seven touchdowns. The discipline expected at a military school — early rising and marching included — didn’t overwhelm Morris, who would wake up at 5:30 in the morning.

“My household is pretty disciplined so I was kind of used to it,” he said. “I like to do things early anyway. I feel like any environment you’re in, you can adapt to it as long as you know the rules and have common sense. It was a good experience.”

He got noticed by the Edmonton Eskimos, who signed him in August of 2015. He was there for his team’s Grey Cup win over Ottawa, but was released at the end of August in 2016. He was quickly snapped up by Saskatchewan, where he played until 2017. Toronto gave him a training-camp look in 2018 and after getting released by the Argos, he was grabbed by the Redblacks.