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Celina senior Bobby Morris, seated center, will attend Defiance College and play football for the Yellow Jackets. Seated with Bobby are his parents Robert and Maryrose. Standing is Celina head football coach Brennen Bader.
CELINA - Family played a large part in Bobby Morris' college decision.
The Celina senior quarterback will stay close to home and attend Defiance College this fall and play football for the Yellow Jackets.
"Being close to family," was Morris' main reason for choosing the school, just over an hour from Celina. "I really like their program. I like their coaches and I like their offense a lot."
Defiance already has a Celina feel with Celina graduate Bill Nickell just finishing his third year as head coach.
The 2024 season saw Defiance play its first season of NAIA football after moving from NCAA Division III. The Yellow Jackets finished 4-7, playing some members of Mid-States Football Association Mideast Division, which Defiance is a provisional member and did not play a full conference slate, and former Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rivals.
"I like the fact that they give out scholarships (which wasn't available when Defiance was Division III) to help out with tuition," said Morris, who will major in criminal justice.
Morris took over at quarterback as a junior and soon formed a tandem with Braylon Gabes working out of a wildcat set as the Bulldogs advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in 40 years. Morris passed for 750 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for 263 yards in 2023.
In 2024 Morris passed for 1,036 yards and 10 touchdowns while leading the team with 11 rushing touchdowns and running for 780 yards. Morris also averaged 37.9 yards on 23 punts as the Bulldogs lost in the opening round of the Division III playoffs to Cincinnati McNicholas to finish 6-5 on the season and 5-4 in the Western Buckeye League.
"Really just taking the extra time to work, as in watching film and showing up early and just trying to outwork everybody," said Morris about what he'll take from Celina to prepare to play at Defiance.
