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Cool Under Fire, the Player Called D-Mo Was Up for the Utah Challenge

Quarterback Dylan Morris shook off three interceptions to take the Huskies nearly the length of the field for the game-winner.
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Nobody talks to Dylan Morris outside the huddle or the locker room these days, at least people with notepads and microphones.

It's not like he's shy or standoffish. He's actually very cool under fire. He's got a nickname, too. His teammates call him D-Mo.

No, Morris is a dreaded freshman, a redshirt freshman in fact, and typically the University of Washington doesn't let its youngest football players speak to the media.

The school instituted an arcane rule some time ago about keeping the young guys away from all of the media attention, from all of those probing questions, to allow them space to grow.

And maybe so as not to say something stupid.

Well, it's safe to say Morris seems to be the kind of guy who can handle himself in just about any pressure situation. He's going to be a guy who's will be in the the spotlight a lot. 

Considering what he did Saturday night against Utah, by pulling the Huskies out of a deep 21-0 hole and delivering a thrilling, last-second 24-21 victory with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Cade Otton, Morris is very well adjusted to the rigors of his job.

"He's steady," said Otton, a junior tight end. "Coach Lake talked about it at half time. We saw it. He's not too high, not too low."

It can't be understated how difficult it would be for anyone to rally the troops from a three-touchdown deficit in the second half, especially at the Power 5 level.

The quarterbacks at Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State don't do this. For one reason, they don't fall behind by three scores. But how can you be a leader ready for anything without a little adversity along the way.

Morris, the kid from Puyallup, Washington, and the one with the beady little mustache after being clean shaven last season, brings an interesting persona to the Husky quarterback job.

He wasn't supposed to the No. 1 guy, not with grad transfer Kevin Thomson and 6-foot-5, 240-pound sophomore Jacob Sirmon, last year's backup, in the mix.

But Morris won the Husky quarterback competition fair and square by doing things right, by limiting his mistakes, by getting the team up and down the field better than the others. 

After committing no turnovers against Oregon State and Arizona, Morris threw three interceptions. Something like that would totally rattle most guys. 

He just shrugged and saved his best for last, for the 88-yard drive to win it over the final four-plus minutes. He was ready all along to make it happen.

"The whole thing was done by D-Mo," senior cornerback Elijah Molden said. "He's a young guy, but he's a leader on our offense."

He's still too young to speak to the media, probably too young to legally sip a cold beverage, too, but he's old enough to win football games. 

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

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