Most Harvard seniors find out if they’ve gotten a certain job privately, either through the mail or a phone call. Carl Morris, however, will learn where he is spending the next several years on a more public medium—television.

Morris and his roommates will gather in his Dunster suite tomorrow and Sunday to follow the National Football League’s (NFL) college draft on TV along with millions of other football fans. While dozens of so-called “experts” have published dozens of predictions on what round and to what team the Harvard wide receiver and two-time Ivy Player of the Year will be selected, the truth is Morris could end up in any one of the NFL’s 31 cities.

“I don’t really expect a certain position [in the draft],” Morris says. “All the people that get paid to predict this…nobody’s going to be right. I’m just waiting for it to be over.”

GETTING READY

There is a very short payoff in the draft for the amount of work a player puts in. While Morris’ name will only light up the television screen for a few seconds, he has been preparing for the moment since the second after the Harvard-Yale game ended last November.

The first thing to do was sign with an agent. After a tedious process of culling through scores of offers, Morris and his parents settled on Eric Hall of Guardian Sports in Philadelphia. Hall immediately set Morris up with a trainer to get him ready for professional workouts.

Atlanta became Morris’ second home from December until March. He went down to Georgia to train with premier fitness guru Chip Smith, who specializes in getting NFL prospects ready for the league’s February “combine”—a comprehensive scouting weekend where coaches from all 32 pro teams examine nearly every player.

“It was intense,” Morris says. “I would leave on Thursdays and come back Sunday.”

Morris also spent most of winter break down in Atlanta, where he interacted with some of Smith’s other charges, including Notre Dame’s Arnaz Battle and star Kansas State cornerback Terence Newman. Right after Christmas, with a month of solid workouts under his belt, Morris made his first foray into big-time college football by playing in the Shrine Bowl in San Francisco. Under the gaze of dozens of scouts on hand to see this collegiate all-star game, Morris made a nice splash with impressive route-running and highlight-reel catches.

“I got all the standard jokes from the guys from the big programs,” Morris recalls. “Definitely got my share of Harvard jokes. It kind of set me apart, everyone knew me because my nickname became ‘Harvard.’”

Of course there was still academic life to attend to. Morris got back from California two days before his first exam this winter, took his tests and then headed straight for the airport, where he flew to Honolulu during intercession to compete in the Hula Bowl, another all-star game.

He caught a pass one-handed and even got to show off his throwing arm (something Crimson fans were used to) by tossing a touchdown pass. The Hula Bowl also reunited Morris with his former college quarterback, Neil Rose, who lives in Hawaii and got in a few snaps.

Now used to flying thousands of miles a week, Morris returned to Cambridge, registered for second-semester classes—and promptly went down to Atlanta.

WORKIN’ (OUT) OVERTIME

Having finally paired off against top collegiate competition, Morris knew what he had to work on to get teams to notice him. The all-star games presented Morris on a national stage and allowed him to show off his size—6’3, 215 lbs.—and abiltiy to catch the ball.