Everybody knows the Lee Morris story is one heck of a feel-good tale about his time at Oklahoma. There’s no debating that.

All the elements are there. His father played for the Sooners. Morris decided to pass up on other offers to follow in his father’s footsteps and be at OU.

He walked on, earned the scholarship. It has been a five-year dream come true. It was a dream, but it was a lot of hard work.

Morris was grateful for the initial opportunity. Everything after that? It’s because Morris earned it all, nothing was given.

“I had to work my way through it. I had to pay my dues,” Morris said. “I had to play scout team. I had to work my way up. Earn time on special teams. Sure enough, as soon as I got my opportunities on offense, I made the most of them. Sure enough, I’m getting more and more and more and more. Here I am.”

It sounds as though Morris might have had a chip on his shoulder, and who could blame him? Head coach Lincoln Riley can freely admit now the only real way they got connected was when Riley and assistant coach Cale Gundy were pursuing Kyler Murray for the 2015 class.

Afterthought is too strong of a word, but Morris has never been the No. 1 priority. Not in high school, not with the Sooners. Thing is, though, it never bothered him. He did what all coaches preach. He controlled what he could control.

So when he only had three catches in the first six games of the 2019 season, eh, he didn’t gripe. He didn’t pout. He maxed out on his reps on offense and kept doing his business as asked on all four special teams units.

“He’s been one of our most unselfish players for the entire time he’s been here,” Riley said. “He came here as a walk-on. Probably shouldn’t have been. Then he’s played on darn near every special teams, every one of them that we’ve had. Been kind of a jack of all trades offensively.

“He never says a word. He just works. Shows up. He’s there every single day. He’s really tough. He’s really made himself into a really, really good football player. I’m not surprised at all with how he handled it. I would’ve never worried about that with him at all. That’s part of why he’s the player that he is and a good example for a lot of young guys.”

Another thing Riley has preached is everybody’s number is eventually going to get called, and you have to be ready for it.

That moment came last weekend. Without star receiver CeeDee Lamb, quarterback Jalen Hurts needed to find somebody else to make a play.

Once he looked to Morris once, he knew he had his guy. Morris finished with a season-high seven catches for 86 yards. All seven catches resulted in first downs.

He had been dubbed #TDLee because of his ability to catch touchdowns with Baker Mayfield and Murray. But Hurts? He has another apt way of describing Morris.

“Yea he's as poised as can be. Kinda like a silent assassin at times,” Hurts said. “Doesn't say much but plays with his heart on his shoulder and plays really hard. He stepped up for us big time, made some really good catches and some really nice conversions.”

Morris couldn’t really argue.

“I mean I’ve been that way for a while now. I’m not one to be rah-rah or talk trash on the field,” Morris said. “I really just do my job, make my plays on the field, get back in the huddle and do it again. That’s about it. It fits well.”

Morris knew from his childhood he was going to be a Sooner. It didn’t matter if he had scholarship offers to smaller schools. He knew he was going to walk-on and show what he could do.

He burst onto the scene with a touchdown grab in OU’s upset win at Ohio State in 2017 and was placed on scholarship following a great season opener vs. Florida Atlantic in 2018.

Getting the scholarship wasn’t the end of the road. It was a goal, but it didn’t mean Morris had checked off all the boxes. And he certainly hasn’t performed that way.

“Just his consistency, man. He's been one of those guys, he's never on a bad list,” Riley said. “In five years, I can probably count on one hands the number of practices he's missed. He's tough. Works every day, doesn't say a word.

“He's just kinda consistently gotten better and better, and has become an extremely valuable player for us. He's without a doubt one of the most valuable players on this team for all the different things he does, and then the way he carries himself and goes about his business.”

Morris is hoping the OU dream isn’t his last one. His father was able to play a couple of seasons in the NFL with most not believing he would, and Morris is hoping for the same fate.

That can be determined next spring and beyond. For now? It’s about finishing strong as a Sooner even if Saturday night isn’t something Morris wants to think about. At least not yet.

“I’ve been dreading this upcoming Saturday,” Morris said. “I’ve had times to reflect during the offseason to see how I’ve gone from this scrawny little high schooler to who I am now and appreciate the hard work I had to put in.”