‘It’s been a unique blend, but everyone’s handling it really well’: New offensive coordinator Eric Morris settles in as WSU prepares for run-and-shoot finale

PULLMAN – For now, Eric Morris is taking a back seat to his predecessor.

Washington State is bidding farewell to the run-and-shoot, but not just yet.

After the Cougs wrap up their Sun Bowl finale, their new offensive coordinator will begin a proper install of his system.

Since returning to the Pullman school recently, Morris has spent his work days conversing with players and assessing practices, probably imagining how the talent he’s observing fits into his offense – a variation of former WSU coach Mike Leach’s Air Raid.

Before the Cougars pass full control to Morris, they’ll put the finishing touches on the short-lived run-and-shoot era when they meet Miami in El Paso on New Year’s Eve.

WSU coach Jake Dickert introduced the Cougs’ new coordinators earlier this month but asked his current co-workers to remain onboard through 2021 and maintain consistency for the players at the end of what’s already been a turbulent year.

So, Dickert’s sideline in El Paso will feature the same staff members who helped guide the Cougars to a 3-2 record since coach Nick Rolovich – who instituted the run-and-shoot at WSU – and four of his assistants were fired in mid-October.

The group of holdovers includes second-year offensive coordinator Brian Smith – one of a few Cougar coaches not expected to be retained in 2022 as Dickert and Morris change course offensively.

Smith, a veteran run-and-shooter, has reportedly been seeking employment opportunities elsewhere, but he’ll finish out ’21 on the Palouse.

“Our offense throughout this time has been very professional,” Dickert said Saturday. “They’ve been working together. I give credit to coach Smith and just what he’s doing every day to make sure we’re finishing 2021 the right way. He’s been the ultimate professional. And coach Morris (is) having a unit meeting right now – just getting together and showing the vision of what we’re going to be without getting into specifics.

“It’s been a unique blend, but everyone’s handling it really well.”

Morris, also WSU’s new quarterbacks coach, addressed local media members for the first time Friday via Zoom call and provided insights about the Cougars’ future offense.

Some of his philosophies resemble those of Rolovich’s run-and-shoot and Leach’s Air Raid. After all, Morris is a Leach disciple who played receiver for him at Texas Tech and coached the position under him at WSU in 2012.

Other principles aren’t as familiar to the Cougars.

Morris will add tight ends and H-backs, run the ball plenty “and still throw the ball around the yard,” he said.

WSU’s offense will revolve around sophomore quarterback Jayden de Laura and presumably lean on the aerial attack. Morris, like Dickert, sees the importance in establishing a “physical mindset” with the ground game. The Cougs’ run-pass balance could near 50-50 in some games.

“I know with the Air Raid it’s something that gets lost in translation, that we don’t need to be physical,” Morris said. “But we’re going to start off with that up front.

“We have to have a physical, nasty mindset and I think that translates over to the receivers. We’re going to throw plenty of screens out there. They have to, first and foremost, be willing to block for one another.”

To be sure, Morris’ offenses are prolific through the air. He oversaw one of the country’s best passing games this season as head coach at Incarnate Word, an FCS program in San Antonio.

In their fourth year under Morris, the Cardinals finished 10-3 and ranked in the top 10 nationally in passing offense, efficiency, total offense and scoring offense.

“(While) he was at Incarnate Word, they’ve been putting up a lot of numbers, so I’m excited to get to work,” Cougar receiver Donovan Ollie said.

Incarnate Word’s offense featured a variety of configurations, a healthy dose of motion and misdirections, rollouts, run-pass options and quick passes to receivers in soft spots underneath.

“We’re going to start with physicality, then it’s going to be fun,” said Morris, who also coordinated Texas Tech’s explosive offense from 2013-17. “It’s going to be high-tempo, moving pieces all over the field and getting the ball out in space. It should be fun for our fans to watch us move the ball up and down the field in a hurry.”

WSU’s offense soon begins a challenging reconstruction process for the second time in as many years. First, the Cougs must rebuild at a few position groups. The offensive line needs help after graduating its two mainstays at tackle. WSU’s roster contains only two scholarship quarterbacks and will also be losing its two top running backs after the Sun Bowl.

The Cougars are somewhat comfortable with their youthful depth at receiver. They’ll put more focus into their new position groups – tight end and H-back. WSU signed its first tight end in over a decade earlier this week.

“It’s going to be a process,” said Morris, noting that he’d like to ink two or three more tight ends before next season. “It’s going to take some time. It’s not like overnight, all of a sudden we’re going to have these huge tight ends show up and be ready to roll.

“I think this is a place where you have to evaluate very well and develop kids. … We need to take our time, be slow, evaluate and get the right guys as opposed to having a knee-jerk reaction and thinking we need to take (players) right now.”

The 36-year-old Morris, a native of Littlefield, Texas – just northwest of Texas Tech’s campus in Lubbock – began his coaching career at Houston in 2010 after a standout pass-catching career with the Red Raiders.

He ascended the ranks quickly, climbing from inside receivers coach at WSU and into a coordinating role with Texas Tech a year later. Morris moved to the southern part of the state in 2018 and turned Incarnate Word’s middling program into an FCS playoff competitor.

“We were able to build something really special there from the ground up,” Morris said. “It was extremely hard for me and my family (to move), but to have this opportunity at a place I believe in – I’ve seen it been done here before – and to come back and call plays at the highest level, and put my spin on things, it’s something I really look forward to. It’s going to be a challenge, obviously. But I believe in coach Dickert’s vision for this program, so I’m excited to kinda hit the ground running.”