Oklahoma State Football Notebook: Eric Morris Calls Out Day One Shortcoming
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College football coaches, especially strength and conditioning coaches, have more contact with players in the offseason than ever before.
It usually leads to players that are in good shape going into the fall’s first workout. But, as Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris said to the media after his first workout on Monday, there are members of the team that need some work.
He politely, but firmly, called it out.
“We had some guys that that couldn't finish practice today, so toughness is going to be a major factor,” Morris said. “I got to go back and watch the tape and see why that happened. Obviously, it's super-hot out here, but we got to get a lot tougher from this point on before our first game, and so all those issues will be addressed.”
The Cowboys spent at least part of their workout in their indoor facility. The high in Stillwater was expected to be 102 degrees. Oklahoma State will have its second workout on Thursday.
An Offensive Head Start
One area Morris was pleased with was where his offense was. Morris runs his own version of the Air Raid offense, popularized by his former Texas Tech head coach, Mike Leach. While the team may not be fully conditioned, the offense is in much better shape because Morris and his staff were able to have the equivalent of the NFL's organized team activities with players during the summer.
That allowed them to install a good portion of the offense before Wednesday's workout. He said the Cowboys were “light years” ahead of his past installs at Incarnate Word and North Texas.
“Now we've done that over the course of summer through walkthroughs, and so our kids know it like the back of our hands,” Morris said. “So today we were a little bit more installed than what we typically would have been a couple years ago.”
The Fastest Wide Receiver Is …
Morris was asked about the wide receiver competition, where Wyatt Young and Chris Barnes are front-runners. He turned his attention to Illinois transfer Justin Bowick, who at 6-5 showed incredible quickness during summer workouts, something that turned Morris’ head.
“I think he had our fastest timed 10-meter dash this summer at 6-5,” Morris said. “So a guy that you know is looking 4.4, 4.3 [40-yard dash] guy at that that size is a guy I’m super excited about.”
Bowick had 22 catches for 265 yards and five touchdowns last season. With his size, he’s seen as the offense’s primary red zone threat. But with that speed he can also work as an X receiver and stretch defenses.
Iman Oates at Practice
Iman Oates is eligible to practice after he and his attorney won a temporary restraining order in court in Payne County, Okla., last month. Oates is seeking another year of eligibility under the same auspices as former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia — that his time at a junior college cut into his NCAA eligibility and into his ability to leverage his name, image and likeness (NIL).
Oates had to work out on his own this summer as he was waiting for the TRO to be heard. Now that’s he eligible — at least until his case is fully heard — he can work out with the Cowboys.
Morris took notice of how much the defensive lineman — who has more games played than any other returning Cowboys defensive player — worked out on his own.
“I'd be sitting in my office, and he'd be outside running by himself,” Morris said. “You know he'd have to go lift somewhere else and not being able to do his workouts here.”
Morris said Oates might be in the best shape of any player in camp.
A Regular Season Head Start
Morris, like most coaches, doesn’t like to look ahead past the next day or the next practice. But, when asked about how much time he puts in for installs and game planning, he conceded that he’s already started looking ahead to their first two opponents — Tulsa on Sept. 5 and Oregon on Sept. 12.
It should give him and his coaches a massive head start.
“Just in the summer, I had some time where I was in the office by myself, I probably have 30 pages of notes and plays on Tulsa, probably close to that on Oregon right now, just to try to get ahead,” he said.
He also said that most mornings he’s in his chair by 5 a.m. watching tape or starting work on game planning or installs.
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Matthew Postins is the publisher of Oklahoma State on SI. He is an award-winning sports journalist who was formerly the editor of the College Football America Yearbook and covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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