What Oklahoma State Football Camp Told Us About Coach Eric Morris' Vision
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Oklahoma State head coach Eric Morris has been open about his goals for this season. He wants to build a winning football team and program.
As he takes over a program that went 1-11 last year and has gone 4-20 in the last two seasons combined, that could be a tall order. But Morris doesn't appear daunted by the past. He'd much rather look forward to the future.
After watching most of fall camp, here are three things that Morris has done that tell us a lot about his vision for the future.
Speed Wins
You could tell from the first practices that Morris was focused on speed in several ways. Many of the offensive drills emphasized getting to the line of scrimmage quickly and turning plays over quickly. During one sequence early in camp the offense was able to run four plays in less than a minute. Granted there was no tackling, but it gives you an indication of how fast the Cowboys want to play.
Morris talked openly about making sure he had plenty of speed at skill positions, on the edge defensively and in non-return positions on special teams. He's truly a believer that speed is going to be his best weapon. Some of that is about the roster. It's nearly brand new and in some places undersized compared to other Big 12 rosters. Using speed in how they play and who he plays could be a differentiator in terms of how well the Cowboys do this season
Experience Matters
The Cowboys are a brand-new roster. There's no getting around the fact that Morris brought in nearly 90 transfers. But he has talked repeatedly about the fact that there was a method to what he and his staff were looking for. They wanted experience. They weren't hung up on classification. They were hung up on snap count.
By snap count, the Cowboys have one of the most experienced rosters in the country. Granted most of the snaps have been at other schools, but this is an experienced outfit. That experience has risen to the top at most position groups and has made the starting lineup easy to project. Many of those projected starters have significant experience.
Morris bought in on experience as a way of flipping the program fast. It’s worked — at least during camp.
Preparation Matters
Morris wants a prepared team. He's made that clear throughout camp, and every practice has been scripted to the second. On Saturday, the Cowboys will go through a complete pregame walkthrough. He wants his players to experience what it's like to get prepared for a game playing under him. That includes getting to the stadium, dressing out, going through warm-ups and mock game action. Assistant coaches will do through reps with their tablets to break down film and convey feedback to players.
There is an attention to detail Morris has brought to the program that is refreshing. The Cowboys are not flying by the seat of their pants. Morris has carried his preparation over to his staff and to his players to the point where fans can feel confident that if the Cowboys lose it won't be for lack of preparation. It might be execution, but it won't be preparation.
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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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