Student and master: Morris, Bradley share mutual respect before MLS Cup
Jordan Morris entered his rookie MLS season more highly touted and hyped than any other college player before him.
The Stanford University standout already had experience playing for the U.S. men's national team and had just come off a trial with German outfit Werder Bremen before opting to sign the biggest Homegrown Player contract in league history to join his hometown team, the Seattle Sounders.
For a country that's constantly scrutinized for its inability to produce young, world class stars, Morris was under the microscope from day one of his MLS adventure. Now, a year on, he and his Seattle teammates have a chance to find glory in the MLS Cup final against Toronto FC at BMO Field.
Having brushed aside his critics with 14 goals in 39 appearances, Morris is one match away from completing the most successful rookie season in MLS history. But, standing in his path is Toronto and USMNT captain Michael Bradley, his mentor through a trying start to the season.
"Jordan has a pretty unique package in terms of what he can do on the field; he's fast; he can run with the ball; he's not afraid," Bradley said of his protege. "The things I like most about Jordan are the things that maybe you guys don't even realize.
"Here's a kid who came into the league under an incredible amount of pressure. From the beginning, (his signing) was built up to be something, in some ways, bigger than it needed to be, for a young player who was just coming out of college. But, he took everything in stride."
Morris has no trouble expressing how Bradley and fellow U.S. teammate Jozy Altidore - also his enemy Saturday - have helped him mature as a player. But, he did admit meeting Bradley for the first time was nerve-wracking.
"Mikey is a great guy and if I'm going to be completely honest, when I went in my first camp, he was pretty intimidating to me," Morris told reporters. "But he's been so great with me and what I love about him is he's just a mentor, a leader, and he's someone you can go to when you need help with anything.
Related: Altidore's team-first attitude, tenacity key to Toronto FC's MLS Cup berth
When Morris dealt with the struggles any rookie deals with in his first few weeks, Bradley was there to lend him an ear and a word of wisdom or two.
However, Bradley offered that after seeing how Morris dealt with the hype surrounding him, it became clear he was helping a special player.
"In moments when people were ready to come down hard on him for missing too many chances or for letting a few things get away from him, he didn't let it bother him one bit. And, he's gotten better and better as the year has gone on. You don't see that in a lot of young players.
"His mentality is different. He's a young kid who competes, who wants to learn, and isn't a big talker. He comes around and is ready to listen and soak things up. He's not afraid to talk when you have a conversation with him but he's someone who comes into a group and is ready to watch, learn, and listen.
"In a lot of ways, he has shown everybody what a unique guy he is this year."
When Morris and Bradley meet Saturday on the turf at BMO Field, they do so as master and student, but also as opponents. Bradley will look to end a decade of suffering for Toronto FC. Morris, however, is looking to end the first chapter of his MLS career with an exclamation point.
"The fact that we're here and the fact that I'm playing for my hometown club, as a kid growing up ... it's definitely surreal, that I’m able to represent this city and play on this great club and be in the situation that I'm in now," Morris said, when asked by theScore if his season felt like a fairy tale.
"It's a pretty surreal feeling. But it's obviously very exciting and one that I've dreamed about since I was a little kid. It's been an awesome year."