Three Important Things Oklahoma State’s Eric Morris Said at Big 12 Media Days

Here’s how new Oklahoma State head football coach Eric Morris handled his initial questions from the national media at Big 12 Media Days earlier this week.

Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

FRISCO, Texas — For Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris, Tuesday was his first taste of Big 12 Media Days at The Star.

He was one of four first-year head coaches at their school. He was in demand throughout the day. He spoke to ESPN, reporters at the podium during the televised, with beat writers in a group setting and then in the breakout sessions at the end of the day. No wonder he and his family went on vacation afterward.

Here are three important things that Morris said about Oklahoma State, his football program and the upcoming season.  

His Memories and OSU’s Current State

Oklahoma State football coach Eric Morris. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Morris is a native of Shallowater, Texas. He played for Mike Leach at Texas Tech, and he coached at Tech as an assistant from 2013-17. His memories of OSU and Boone Pickens Stadium are from his days as a player and coach. It was of the rowdy atmosphere, the high level of success under former coach Mike Gundy and the difficult games.

He said upon reaching OSU in December he had to understand that his memories don’t align with the current reality.

“Now, when I got there, I had to sit back and realize that there had been kids that are in this program that have been there for two years that hadn't experienced walking in that locker room after winning a conference game,” he said. “So that was something really unique for me because my memories were great, and then I had to realize a bunch of our players' memories haven't been great in the recent past.”

Making His Team Mingle

Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Morris took his first team meeting in the early winter once he was on campus in January, along with his transfers and the holdover Cowboys. He noticed something right away — it was a middle school cafeteria.

The North Texas kids were huddled together. The current OSU players were huddled together. The other transfers were milling around looking for their own groups. Morris wasn’t having it.

“From our very first team meeting, all the North Texas guys were sitting in the front right, and the first thing I did when I addressed the team is I made everybody stand up, move, and go sit by somebody they didn't know so we could immediately start forming new relationships,” he said. “Because it's not about us and them. This is all about Oklahoma State versus a really good conference in the Big 12.”

Respect for Mike Gundy

Oklahoma State Cowboys coach Mike Gundy. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Morris is replacing someone who is synonymous with the program, both as a player and as a coach. He isn’t turning his back on that, even though Gundy’s tenure as head coach didn’t end as he would have hoped.

“My predecessor had an amazing career in Mike Gundy,” he said. “I mean, all the respect in the world to how much success that he had there, being somewhere 21 years, and then obviously he was such a great player there. As a competitor, you're always chasing that, and the bar is set pretty high.”