Stanford Football Lands Four-Star Ryelan Morris

Even through times of uncertainty, the Stanford Cardinal football program continue to build a team with elite talent. The 2025 season is fast approaching, but that does not mean that focus isn't being put into 2026, with general manager Andrew Luck and company working diligently to put together a solid 2026 recruiting class.

Not long after signing star Daylen Sharper, the Cardinal landed another top tier recruit, signing four-star ATH Ryelan Morris.

Morris, who was initially committed to Baylor, flipped his commitment after taking an official visit to The Farm at the end of May. A native of Honey Grove, Texas, Morris received interest from schools such as Texas Tech, TCU, SMU, North Texas and Houston in addition to his offers from Baylor and Stanford, but felt that taking his talents to the West Coast was in his best interest.

Standing at 5-foot-10 and weighing 175 pounds, Morris brings a very athletic frame and figures to be a prominent figure in the Cardinal running back room. Fast and agile, Morris is very good at seeing open running lanes and will turn on that second gear to burst through them, making it very hard for opponents to bring him down.

But the big thing for Morris is making sure that he can stay healthy, which is something that a lot of running backs struggle with due to the physicality of the position.

In three seasons at Honey Grove High School, Morris has cemented himself as a school legend. Totaling 361 carries for 3,867 yards and 70 touchdowns on the ground in three seasons, Morris' best season came as a sophomore in 2023 when he ran the ball 151 times for 1,681 yards and 31 touchdowns in 12 games, guiding the Warriors to a 10-2 record. They ultimatley fell just short of winning the UIL Texas Football State Championship.

As it stands right now, the Cardinal have a very crowded running back room but do not necessarily have a clear cut starter. While Micah Ford and Chris Davis Jr. took a majority of the snaps out of the backfield in 2024, the team's leading rusher last season was former quarterback Ashton Daniels, who ran for 669 yards.

Stanford's running game has struggled to gain traction over the past couple of seasons, and while 2025 will see the Cardinal most likely rely on Ford, Davis Jr. and Tuna Altahir among others, Morris' addition in 2026 could help change how the ball is distributed.

In addition to Morris and Sharper's commitment, the Cardinal have 13 other hard commits for their 2026 recruiting class including three-star defensive back, Xavier Harmon, three-star ATH Langdon Horace and three-star safety Zaiden McDonald among others.