Why Morris Should or Shouldn't Start as UW Quarterback
In this story:
Kalen DeBoer will reveal his starting quarterback next week, enabling the winner of the three-player competition to have a couple of weeks to prepare for the University of Washington's season opener against Kent State and call the job his own.
So far DeBoer has given Michael Penix Jr., Sam Huard and Dylan Morris roughly two dozen practices of equal repetitions to show how they make decisions, react to pressure and throw the football.
Each of these players has been a starting quarterback in a Power 5 game, though Huard in just one.
As high-school recruits, Huard earned a 5-star rating, Morris drew a 4-star label and Penix held 3-star consideration, according to 247Sports.
We'll take a look at each candidate over the next three days and offer reasons why they should and shouldn't be the starter, beginning with Morris.
3 reasons he deserves the job:
1) Morris is a staunch competitor, leading the Huskies from a 21-0 halftime deficit to a last-second victory over Utah in 2020, no small feat; to a last-second victory at Stanford last season and to a comeback win in the final six minutes at Arizona also last season.
2) He's the incumbent, with 15 UW starts behind him, and he's still just a sophomore. That counts for something. With detail-oriented QB coaching for the first time, Morris stands to be a much-improved player.
3) The UW fan base always has been hard on its quarterbacks. It's tradition to bash the struggling young Husky quarterbacks. For examples, see Warren Moon and Steve Pelluer. Now it's the sons and maybe the daughters of those long-ago bashers who pick on Morris and castigate him. It's his chance to respond.
3 reasons Morris won't get the job:
1) Watching him, Morris breaks off plays and tucks the ball under his arm much more often than Penix or Huard, possibly overly concerned about turning it over. The awareness is good, but he might be overdoing it and greatly limiting himself from making the big play.
2) As an even 6-footer, he's the shortest Husky starting quarterback over the past four decades, sometimes finding it tough to see over the pass rush.
3) He led the Pac-12 in interceptions with 12 last season, which could make him a little reluctant to do what he did to win the four-player UW quarterback competition in 2020 against Ethan Garbers (now at UCLA), Jacob Sirmon (now at Northern Colorado) and Kevin Thomson — which was to play free and loose and let things happen.
Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Husky FanNation stories as soon as they’re published.
Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.
Find Husky FanNation on Facebook by searching: Husky Maven/Sports Illustrated
Follow Dan Raley of Husky FanNation on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven
