When Briana Morris first stepped on to the USA campus as a freshman in 2016, all she wanted to do was belong. She was recruited into the top team in the Sun Belt Conference, one that had just won its second straight regular-season title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

She had to start at the bottom – behind a former Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and a future player of the year. It brought back memories to when she first joined the soccer team at Hoover High School as an eighth-grader. She didn't play with the varsity team at first, even though some of her classmates did. She eventually joined the varsity that season, and became an all-state honoree and as well as a two-time state champion.

But at South Alabama, Morris didn't have her family to rely on for support like she did in high school, and as expectations from others rose, so did her stress levels.

She had to call on her experience in high school, where she didn't let her position on the team define her, and used the inspirational words she reserved for her high school teammates on herself to drive her, in addition to outside forces like her faith to get her through tough times where she felt like she didn't belong.

Through hard work, perseverance and personal growth, she has transformed from someone on the fringe to the team's top goal-scoring threat.

While she didn't play much her freshman and sophomore seasons, she didn't let the opportunity to get better pass her by. By her own account, she spent almost every day of the summer after her freshman campaign working out, ensuring that when her opportunity came, she couldn't look back and say that she could have done more.

She didn't start a game as a sophomore, but appeared in 20 of 21 games and scored a pair of goals -- the first two of her career -- in league games against ULM and Georgia Southern.

Despite all of the hard work, the results still weren't there yet, prompting Morris to rely on teammates to help her stay the course.

"I'm not going to lie, there were a lot of tears shed," Morris reflected. "You feel like, you did all of this, where are the results? I used a lot of teammates, Abi (Mills) for example, and I would sit and talk with her. She allowed me to stay positive. I always took it day by day where I would focus more on myself, rather than the result, so I got better for myself and not anybody else."

Morris became a regular in the starting lineup the following season, but scored just a pair of goals through the end of the regular season. As the Sun Belt Tournament started against Appalachian State, she found herself on the bench for just the second time all season, but when she entered a scoreless game in the 27th minute, everything changed.

She recorded her first shot less than 2 1/2 minutes later, then put a shot on goal five minutes after that. At the 39:41 mark, she assisted Mills on the Jaguars' first goal of the contest, then exactly five minutes later, she fed Ana Helmert for a goal just before the break, sending the team into intermission up 2-0.

In the 58th minute, she capped off the scoring and help send South Alabama into the semifinals with a 3-0 victory, accounting for all three goals. The four-point effort tied the best performance by a Jaguar all season.

"Going into the App State game, I wasn't going to start, so I really emphasized staying focused and not letting that get to me," Morris said. "When I did that, I came out ready to show everyone that I'm meant to be out here. I'm trying to make a statement today. That's what I used and I feel like that really helps me before any game to play to my fullest and not regret anything."

In the semis, she led the Jags with five shots and four on goal, and assisted on the team's lone goal in the 18th minute. Morris' efforts weren't enough as USA was eliminated by regular-season champion Texas State on penalty kicks.

She was recognized for her efforts by being named to the all-tournament team, a bittersweet but important moment for her.

"It felt good," Morris said. "It was something that I definitely savored as a moment in my college career. I can look back on that and see all that I've been through, that I'm thankful. Even though it was a small result, it was big for me personally.

"We lost, so I was pretty upset about that. We were doing so well, and to come out with a loss, it was a heartbreaker. I enjoyed that I got the recognition, but I would have preferred getting a win for the team as well."

Over the summer, Morris had a decision to make. She wanted to play in the Women's Premier Soccer League but had to choose between playing for Birmingham, which would be closer to home and allow her to be closer to her family, or stay on the Gulf Coast and play for Pensacola, a team that would allow her to practice more and keep up her fitness levels. She ultimately chose Pensacola, much to the delight of USA head coach Richard Moodie.

"Summer time is always difficult – do you want the student-athletes to play during the summer or go home? You fight that as a coach," Moodie said. "When they're a part of Pensacola and in the national tournament, you wonder if it's too much – they're playing all the way down to the last minute, and is she getting burned out? The reality is, she had good training this summer, she pushed herself, won a bunch of accolades, had a great experience and made great memories. That was all worth it for us. We're reaping the rewards for that."

The move paid off as not only did Pensacola win the WPSL championship, she was named co-offensive player of the year after scoring 13 goals in 12 games, including twice in the title game.

She picked up right where she left off in August, scoring goals in each of the first four games of the season and recorded a career-best five points against Jackson State. Her six goals in that stretch was the most by a Jaguar since at least 2009, and she picked up the first two Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week awards.

Two factors contributed to her early-season success. Morris says it's due to her allowing things to happen naturally without forcing it – letting the game come to her – and Moodie points to her relentless work ethic.

"It's easy to hide behind your strengths and not identify weaknesses," Moodie noted. "The only way to get better is to improve on your strengths and definitely improve on your weaknesses. That's what she's done. She's taken all of those areas of her game, worked on them and now she's scoring with them. She's not scared to identify those weak areas and improve on them. She's on the field more than anybody.

"She's an extremely hard-working girl and she's training in the right ways. That's the important thing."

Morris' growth on the field has coincided with her growth off it. She joined the South Alabama Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as a sophomore. At first, she was just involved in various community service projects, meetings and participating in other SAAC events, but in the spring of her junior year, she was named president.

Her role as president gave her an entirely new perspective on what it's like to be a student-athlete. Instead of just being along for the ride, she is intricately involved in setting policies and being a major part of the overall picture.

She attended a Sun Belt SAAC president convention this past spring and saw first-hand her impact on the student-athlete experience.

"I got to see we were a voice and not just people coming to meetings," she stated. "That helped me wanting to get more involved with people here because I don't think they get that SAAC isn't a place where student-athletes get together and talk about things here, it's bigger than us.

"It's not really a big job, but it's the amount of effort you put into it, which is going to make it a big job. I feel like this year I've put a lot of effort into it and I want to see it grow, and if it doesn't, I want to instill that growth in somebody else."

In May, Morris was the only student-athlete to take part in the Sun Belt Conference's 2019 Diversity and Inclusion Summit at the league's annual meeting. She served on a panel discussion with faculty athletic representatives from around the league to discuss what schools are doing to address diversity in their athletic departments.

"I thought it was a great opportunity," Morris said. "I felt like my voice had gotten bigger, and not just thinking of my sport, but outside my sport, and seeing that I could be a change for somebody else – somebody that plays basketball or football. Just wanting to be more involved with athletes and how they feel, and I might not have gotten it all out at that seminar."

Morris took on an on-field leadership role prior to this season as well, serving as one of three team captains. While her leadership style isn't loud and in-your-face, that doesn't mean it's not effective.

"She leads by example," Moodie commented. "It's in her school work, the social aspect, being president of SAAC and all of the stuff that she does. We're talking about someone who was player of the week two times in a row and she's back on the field training, and you have girls that aren't winning those accolades not doing that. If you see that your player of the week is still out training more than anybody else, you'd like to think that would set a fire underneath everyone – 'If she's doing it, then I need to do be doing it.' The team feeds off that.

"She's a great example to the younger girls and everyone. They get to see what it takes to be successful. She's really good at demonstrating what we stand for at South Alabama. She's 100% or nothing at all."

That 100% mentality extends to all parts of her life. She is not only a full-time student and a member of the soccer team, she also works three days a week at Perdido Trucking Company in their accounting department and as an intramural referee.

When she's done being seemingly the busiest woman on campus, she wants to start a career in accounting and hopes to apply the lessons she's learned from her experiences as a student-athlete and a member of SAAC, such as using all of the resources available to solve a problem and being open-minded about people to better relate and connect with them.

The advice she'd give her freshman self, sitting on the bench waiting her turn, seems apt and prescient: "Just be patient; it's all going to come in God's plan. Do everything you can do to be yourself."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Upper 90 Club, the soccer specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  All gifts to the Upper 90 Club go directly to support the South Alabama soccer program.  For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/upper90

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