It's been a whirlwind few weeks for Jordan Morris since he made his decision to join the Seattle Sounders.
Less than 18 hours after landing in Seattle last week, the 21-year-old Mercer Island native was seated in front of a packed house at The NINETY in Pioneer Square, announced as the club's seventh Homegrown Player. That night, Morris was back at Sea-Tac and ultimately off to California, where he's been ever since with the U.S. national team in their annual January camp.
Although he hasn't yet met up with his Sounders teammates, the Stanford standout isn't a stranger. Captain Brad Evans, who is also in the USMNT camp ahead of two international friendlies in California, said Friday he's been impressed with Morris for some time.
"We've had Jordan in since he's 18 years old training with us. From day one, you knew there was something special," Evans said during an interview on SiriusXM FC. "I liken Jordan to myself in saying 'I'm going to stick with one team and I'm going to do it as long as I can, and have fun with it.'"
For Evans, sticking with one club has meant joining the Rave Green during the 2009 Expansion Draft. Although he's morphed into a utility man for the club - moving from the midfield to defense and back again - he's among just two original Sounders remaining with the team.
After watching Morris' saga unfold, Evans noted that the signing did mark a change for Major League Soccer at large when it comes to youth development.
"We never had an MLS team to say 'I've been bleeding these colors since I was a youth player,'" said Evans. "He did his trial overseas and had opportunities to go but he said, 'This is what I wanted to do, this is what I've wanted to do since I was an academy player.'"
Morris and Evans will rejoin their Sounders teammates in Tucson following the USMNT's Feb. 5 friendly against Canada. Until then, Evans says he's impressed by what he's seen so far of the forward.
"It's pretty tremendous. What we've seen here in camp...he's very powerful, very fast, a good finisher and has an insane work rate," Evans said. "At 21 years old, that's what you'd expect but he has something very special."
Longtime USMNT striker Jozy Altidore, meanwhile, has also praised Morris during the first camp of the new year.
"Jordan, especially, is spectacular," Altidore told U.S. Soccer. "He's 21, but you can see all the ability there, so hopefully he gets the time he needs to develop and he continues to help our team."
