Eric Morris overcame the odds to go from Class 2A high school football to the Big 12 Conference.

Morris’ next goal is trying to carve out a career in pro football. If the Canadian Football League provides that outlet, it’s not a bad alternative to the NFL. The former Shallowater and Texas Tech standout spent the 2009 season with the West Division champion Saskatchewan Roughriders and could see himself playing in the CFL for the long term.

“I could if I stay healthy,’’ he said. “That’s the key for any professional athlete. When you get older, you have to stay healthy and get lucky and catch some breaks here and there. I still love playing football. It’ll definitely be an option.’’

Saskatchewan Roughrider Eric Morris carries the ball past Toronto Argonauts during a game in July. Morris and fellow ex-Raider Graham Harrell went to Canada to start their pro careers.(Chris Young/The Canadian Press)

The health issue is relevant to Morris, because he spent the second half of his rookie season on the injured list with a knee injury that required surgery. But Morris made a mark with Saskatchewan, starting the season as the Roughriders’ top return man, returning 22 kickoffs and 16 punts.

Next summer, he’ll try to earn more time on offense — he caught only one pass for 17 yards.

“I learned a lot,’’ said Morris, who was joined on the Riders’ roster by former Tech quarterback Graham Harrell, who also was on the injured list most of the year. “It was a different offense, the game was fast, and there’s some good players up there. It was a fun experience and fun to learn kind of a different game. But it was good for me to get in a different offense and see what other people do, then kind of put in my two cents and put what I learned here together with it.’’

Morris, who caught 19 career touchdown passes for Tech playing inside receiver, went to Saskatchewan on a two-year contract with an option year for a third. So he’ll be headed back to Regina, the Roughriders’ home city, in June.

It’s not a bad time to be there.

The Roughriders, whose only CFL titles came in 1966, 1989 and 2007, were an underdog this season. But with six victories and a tie in their last 10 regular-season games, they finished 10-7-1, then beat Calgary in the West Division final to advance to the Grey Cup, the CFL version of the Super Bowl.

“We had some young guys and guys that weren’t very experienced, but came on strong and played really well down the stretch and got homefield advantage in the playoffs,’’ Morris said. “It was a big deal for us. We had a little run going at the end of the season and were playing well at the right time. Played well the last game; just came up a little short.’’

Saskatchewan almost pulled a major Grey Cup upset, taking a 27-11 lead on 91/2-point favorite Montreal with 11 minutes left in the game.
Alouettes kicker Damon Duval missed a 43-yard field goal as time ran out, touching off a Roughriders celebration, but Saskatchewan was penalized for too many men on the field.

With a second chance, Duval converted a 33-yarder to lift Montreal to a 28-27 victory.

“It’s disappointing when you think you have it in the bag,’’ Morris said. “To watch our team go on the field to celebrate and then see the flag come up and give them a second chance to win was a heartbreaker.
“It’ll be tough. It’s in the back of our minds, but it’s something you have to get over. It’s something that happens every day in sports.
Unfortunately, we were on the losing end this time, but we’ll be back and be motivated next year.’’

Morris’ first order of business is to get back up to speed. His surgery repaired damaged cartilage and a medial collateral ligament. He’s taking time off until mid-January to give his body an extended rest.

He’d had surgery on the same knee when he was younger.

“The older you get, the more things that pop up on it, it’s harder to get over,’’ Morris said. “But toward the end of the season, I reacted well to it and started feeling good on it. Hopefully a little bit of time off will do the trick and then I can hit it and get back in shape.’’

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