Florida LB commit Malik Morris named to MaxPreps preseason All-American list

MaxPreps names a preseason All-American list each year ahead of the start of the high school football season. Like most All-American lists, there is a first-team and a second-team of who a publication considers to be a top player in their sport. The 2025 MaxPreps All-American list was released this week, and included Lakeland (Fla.) 4-star Florida linebaker commit Malik Morris on the second team for defense.

Malik Morris was a key player for Lakeland as a junior

The Dreadnaughts finished last season with a 13-1 record and fell just short of a state championship. Their only loss of the season came in the state championship against Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas by a score of 34-0. He takes snaps on offense for Lakeland and scored five rushing touchdowns. However, on defense, Malik Morris had a standout season. He finished the year with an impressive 95 total tackles, 9 sacks, three forced fumbles, and one interception on the defensive side of the ball.

Morris makes MaxPreps second team All-American for linebacker alongside Leesburg (Fla.) Tavares 4-star FSU commit Izayia Williams and Mobile (Ala.) St. Paul’s Episcopal 5-star Oregon commit Anthony Jones. Texas commit Tyler Atkinson, Alabama commit Xavier Griffin, and USC commit Talanoa Ili made the MaxPreps first-team All-American list this year.

Morris committed to the Florida Gators in the summer

Florida offered Malik Morris in January of last year, and was instantly projected as the school he would eventually land. The Gators treated Morris like a priority target and had multiple coaches pressing for his verbal pledge. The attention the staff showed him, mixed with how he saw the Florida staff treat their players, played a significant role in his pick.

“Coach [Billy] Napier just cares so much about his players and the program. He loves them, and he’s going to do anything he can for them. I like Coach [Ron] Roberts, and he’s got a really good personality. He’s all about ball, and I am a lot like that. [Brandon] Spikes was another person I got to know a lot over there. He played the same position as me at Florida. We got a similar background, and the way I connected to him is just different for real.”

Morris is excited to see how Florida does on the field this season after a strong finish last season.

“For me, I feel like Florida had two seasons in one last year,” he explained. “I saw how things started for them, and it was kind of rough, but I saw how they finished, too. They didn’t quit on each other or the coaches. Everyone just went to work, and the culture helped them turn it around. That helped push Florida up for me.”

The Rivals Industry, a weighted average of the four major recruiting services, ranks Malik Morris as the nation’s No. 232 overall player.