Moran Norris

Moran Norris

Norris (#44) in December 2007
No. 44     San Francisco 49ers
Fullback
Personal information
Date of birth: June 16, 1978 (1978-06-16) (age 33)
Place of birth: Houston, Texas
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Weight: 250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
College: Kansas
NFL Draft: 2001 / Round: 4 / Pick: 125
Debuted in 2001 for the New Orleans Saints
Career history
New Orleans Saints (2001–2002) Houston Texans (2002–2005) San Francisco 49ers (2006–2007) Detroit Lions (2008) San Francisco 49ers (2009–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Third-team All-Big 12 (2000)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2010
Rushing yards	68
Rushing average	2.6
Rushing TDs	1
Receiving yards	193
Receiving average	5.2
Receiving TDs	3
Stats at NFL.com

Torrance Moran Norris (pronounced /ˈmɒrən/); born June 16, 1978) is an American football fullback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kansas.

Norris has also played for the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions.

Early years

Moran graduated from Madison High School in Houston, Texas in 1996.

College career

Norris went on to play for the University of Kansas.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the 4th round (115th overall) in the 2001 NFL Draft. Norris played his entire season with the Saints before being waived on September 17, 2002.

Houston Texans

A day after being waived by the Saints, Norris was claimed off waived by the Houston Texans on September 18, 2002. He was a member of the Texans through the 2005 season. In 2005, Norris played in all 16 games with five starts and had one reception for four yards and 12 special teams tackles.

First stint with 49ers

Norris was signed as a free agent by the 49ers in 2006. That season, he helped 49ers running back Frank Gore rush for 1,695 yards and earn a Pro Bowl selection. Norris caught two passes for touchdowns that season; one of those coming in the season finale against the Denver Broncos, helping to knock them out of the playoffs.

Norris was released by the 49ers during final cuts on August 30, 2008.

Detroit Lions

Norris was signed by the Detroit Lions on 9 October 2008 after running back Marcus Thomas was waived. Norris was released before the team's next game on 12 October 2008 when quarterback Drew Henson was promoted to the active roster. Norris was once again signed by the Lions on 13 October 2008 after safety Gerald Alexander was put on the injured reserve list.^[1]

Second stint with 49ers

An unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason, Norris was re-signed by the San Francisco 49ers on February 27, 2009. The three-year, $5 million contract included a $1.5-million signing bonus.

Moran Norris Foundation

The Moran Norris Foundation was started in 2005. Moran and his wife Tamara, both Houston natives created the foundation to help at-risk students achieve their goals.

Nearly one out of every four people in Central-Southwest Houston is without a high school diploma.  One out of every three households lives below the federal poverty level. The majority of students at these schools are considered at-risk of dropping out of school. Central-Southwest Houston contains a collection of subdivisions separated by underdeveloped land, old land fills, and many heavy industries. The neighborhoods are plagued with unemployment, single-parent homes, gang violence, juvenile delinquency, reduction in home ownership, and high school drop-outs. According to the 2000 Census, the population is 42,000, of which 15,000 are children (ages 0–19).

In collaboration with the Houston ISD south region and other local partners, the foundation proposes to provide students, teachers and parents with programs and resources to combat the challenges associated with at-risk behaviors, student drop-outs, and poor attendance/tardiness. The approach includes incentives, preventative interventions that target the larger community via after school programs, athletics programs and character education programs. And for every student the foundation encounters, their goal is to ensure that each student will set educational and career goals and make every effort to reach those goals.

Over the past several years, in the San Francisco area, Moran has “adopted” two group of students in the Brother2Brother/Sister2Sister Mentoring Program and Brothers Against Guns as part of his Foundation’s initiatives. Norris hosts the youngsters at 49ers games, provides them with financial support and teaches them the importance of life skills, education, goal setting, hard work and good character.

The Foundation also has an annual football camp and fundraising dinner each year in June. The camp features individualized instruction from a host of NFL Players. Past participants of the camp have included Frank Gore, Kentwan Balmer, Tarell Brown, Nate Clements, Dashon Goldson, Parys Haralson and Michael Robinson of the San Francisco 49ers, Travis Johnson of the Houston Texans, Travis Fisher and Kevin Smith of the Detroit Lions, Shaun Rodgers and Robaire Smith of the Cleveland Browns, Charlie Anderson of the Miami Dolphins and Ronald Fields of the Denver Broncos. The foundation also hosts a dinner to assist with fundraising efforts. A portion the fundraiser income will go towards the production of Prime Time Love, a new reality show starring former 49ers player Deion Sanders. Past keynote speakers include Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas and Pro Bowl running back Deuce McAllister.

References

1. ^ http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/transactions

External links

• Detroit Lions bio
• San Francisco 49ers bio

Persondata
Name	Norris, Moran
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 16, 1978
Place of birth	Houston, Texas
Date of death
Place of death