Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Morse would later relocate to Portland, Oregon, where he graduated from Benson Polytechnic High School in 1931. In addition to football, where he was MVP on Benson's 1928 city championship team, he played baseball and was the leading scorer for the school's basketball team in 1930. Morse attended the University of Oregon, where he was a two-time all-Pacific Coast Conference end, and an All-American in his senior year of 1934, when he was also team co-captain.