Heinz and I spoke with Eric Morris yesterday on The Morning Drive. If you'd like to listen to the interview, you can check it out now on DoubleT1043.com.
Below is a transcript. Big ups to Drew for transcribing this today.
Q: It's been pretty quiet from you guys, and I'm guessing that is by design because you're probably not happy with how the season ended and are probably looking forward to this 2015 season and getting this bad taste out of your mouth.
Morris: Yeah no doubt, we've had a lot of closed door meetings with these players and have had a lot of vocal leaders stepping up this summer and taking charge of things which is really good to see. Pete Robertson and Le'Raven have done a great job so far, but we don't have anything new to talk about. We've all talked about it until we're blue in the face and we are so excited to get this fall camp started, we can hardly wait. It's time to get back out there around the kids and have these guys compete and get this bad taste out of our mouth.
Q: You mentioned the leadership of Pete and Le'Raven and that's not something you can force, there's no drill that you can do that increases leadership, it just kind of happens organically.
Morris: Yeah it's been the first time since we've been here that we've actually seen it. Le'Raven has held a couple player's only meetings and that's happened. He doesn't talk much, but he is a guy I respect from a teammate perspective because he could have left this year, but when he met and sat down with us, he said he had a lot more to give to Texas Tech and didn't want to go out on the note that we did and the season we had last year. He's leading these guys, he's a lot more vocal right now, he's put in the work and is down 20 pounds and has put it back on the right way, he is about 310 right now. He just looks amazing, he is leading in a very good way right now.”
Q: Have you done anything different this offseason to prepare you for this year as opposed to last year or your first season on campus?
Morris: We didn't throw as much in the summer as we first did. The first summer session, we were all about strength training, we needed to get stronger and get faster and those were two things we tried to work on. We tried to get them away from actually throwing the football a little bit, last year we thought we might've burned them out a little bit. They've been up here working, grinding and getting extra time but all that extra time was going in to different things rather than just throwing in seven-on-seven. We will get back into that during the second summer session, but I think they kids are having a different look in their eye right now, they have something to prove which is always good to see.
Q: So much focus on turnovers on offense, do you get a sense now that whether you'll be better in that department or is that something that works itself out during the season? Can you get a read on that in regards to turnovers?
Morris: No, the last three games Pat did a good job of protecting the ball but in the Baylor game, we had those three first half fumbles that hurt us we were driving, but those are things he can't control. The quarterbacks, Kliff has stressed it till he's blue in the face and we have charts all throughout the locker room displaying teams that lead the nation in turnover ratio and where they finished the season. We know that it is a huge part of what we got to do and we got to protect the football even if that means holding on to it and punting the ball a few more times, we are okay with that. It is something though that we have to wait till the season when the bullets start flying and then it will happen.
Q: Does the randomness of that kind of naw at you? You can see a kid improve his route running or increase his knowledge of the playbook whereas there is a bit of an element of chance or luck with turnovers.
Morris: No doubt, but we still just have to coach them better. You look at teams all over the country and they're consistent at it. The teams that are always near the top are the ones who are the best at protecting the football. It fits both ways, there are times where you get unlucky but it can't keep happening over and over like it did with us last year, we were like the Bad News Bears out there and it just kept happening over and over and you just wanted to stand up in the press box and pull your hair out. You're moving the ball, getting the yards, De'Andre is doing well in the run game, both of your quarterbacks are doing good things, but then we are turning it over at the most uncharacteristic of times and that can't be happening, you can't win football games like that.
Q: Does that affect the playcalling where you know you're moving the ball but every time you give it to a guy he just turns the ball over or can't catch the ball and as a result you can't call that play even though you would've liked to and it might've been the better play?
Morris: Yeah no doubt. It definitely messes with your rhythm as a play caller. The one thing that we are getting close to is that I think we have enough kids now, where we are deep enough to where we can pull kids out or replace them for a bit on the field. We can pull them off and put in the next one. It is not like we don't have any options where we got to stick with this guy because what else do we have behind him? We have kids that are working hard behind the starters, our receiving room looks a lot different this summer, there are kids sitting behind them where they got that look in their eye that they are coming for people's jobs and that is something you definitely get excited to coach. If a kid isn't performing how you need them to be performing, you have to have an option to put in behind them.
Q: How would you characterize the competition right now between Davis and Pat?
Morris: I think it is great, they are both doing great jobs in summer workouts as far as leading the groups, and I haven't seen them act like they are trying to pull certain teammates this way or pull certain teammates that way, I think they understand the competition too. I think they know that the guy who performs the best early on is going to be the guy and you can't argue with that after the ups and downs over the past two years, you can't argue with that. As a coaching staff and as a team, we are so far away from playing political games or dealing with this and that, we just need to win football games and that's it. Whoever gives us the best chance to do that will be the starter, we aren't going to sit here and sugar coat anything and play patty cake or call their moms and do any of that, we understand where we need to go as a program and our kids and coaches have their heads down right now and know what we are focused on.
Q: Do you expect coach Kingsbury to name a starter before fall workouts begin or do you think that is something that will take place in the middle of fall camp?
Morris: I think it will work itself out a couple weeks into it. I know he wants to have a guy heading into those last two weeks where we really start preparing for the upcoming opponent and start pushing those reps towards one guy with the ones. It's big to be in the huddle and be familiar with everyone in the huddle and be able to look in everyone's face and really believe in him and take charge and say hey this is what we are doing and not having everyone go back and forth and being wishy washy about it. I think he really wants to have his guy within the first two to three weeks and say hey here we go and have everybody rally around him. We got a good group in that huddle right now, I mean you look around and you got Le' Raven Clark and Baylen Brown and Jared Kaster, and Alfredo, really the right tackle is the only position on the field where the guy is unproven. Even at receiver you have Dylan and Reginald battling it out and they have played, you got Jakeem and Cameron Batson who have played, you have Ian who really came on last year and then Devin Lauderdale so hopefully a receiver or two, these young guys like Quan Shorts, Tony Brown, KeKe, kids that from the reviews we are getting can really run, have some ball skills but as far as getting in the huddle with a lot of kids who have played football games, we're going to have that on offense so there is going to be no excuses.
Below is a transcript. Big ups to Drew for transcribing this today.
Q: It's been pretty quiet from you guys, and I'm guessing that is by design because you're probably not happy with how the season ended and are probably looking forward to this 2015 season and getting this bad taste out of your mouth.
Morris: Yeah no doubt, we've had a lot of closed door meetings with these players and have had a lot of vocal leaders stepping up this summer and taking charge of things which is really good to see. Pete Robertson and Le'Raven have done a great job so far, but we don't have anything new to talk about. We've all talked about it until we're blue in the face and we are so excited to get this fall camp started, we can hardly wait. It's time to get back out there around the kids and have these guys compete and get this bad taste out of our mouth.
Q: You mentioned the leadership of Pete and Le'Raven and that's not something you can force, there's no drill that you can do that increases leadership, it just kind of happens organically.
Morris: Yeah it's been the first time since we've been here that we've actually seen it. Le'Raven has held a couple player's only meetings and that's happened. He doesn't talk much, but he is a guy I respect from a teammate perspective because he could have left this year, but when he met and sat down with us, he said he had a lot more to give to Texas Tech and didn't want to go out on the note that we did and the season we had last year. He's leading these guys, he's a lot more vocal right now, he's put in the work and is down 20 pounds and has put it back on the right way, he is about 310 right now. He just looks amazing, he is leading in a very good way right now.”
Q: Have you done anything different this offseason to prepare you for this year as opposed to last year or your first season on campus?
Morris: We didn't throw as much in the summer as we first did. The first summer session, we were all about strength training, we needed to get stronger and get faster and those were two things we tried to work on. We tried to get them away from actually throwing the football a little bit, last year we thought we might've burned them out a little bit. They've been up here working, grinding and getting extra time but all that extra time was going in to different things rather than just throwing in seven-on-seven. We will get back into that during the second summer session, but I think they kids are having a different look in their eye right now, they have something to prove which is always good to see.
Q: So much focus on turnovers on offense, do you get a sense now that whether you'll be better in that department or is that something that works itself out during the season? Can you get a read on that in regards to turnovers?
Morris: No, the last three games Pat did a good job of protecting the ball but in the Baylor game, we had those three first half fumbles that hurt us we were driving, but those are things he can't control. The quarterbacks, Kliff has stressed it till he's blue in the face and we have charts all throughout the locker room displaying teams that lead the nation in turnover ratio and where they finished the season. We know that it is a huge part of what we got to do and we got to protect the football even if that means holding on to it and punting the ball a few more times, we are okay with that. It is something though that we have to wait till the season when the bullets start flying and then it will happen.
Q: Does the randomness of that kind of naw at you? You can see a kid improve his route running or increase his knowledge of the playbook whereas there is a bit of an element of chance or luck with turnovers.
Morris: No doubt, but we still just have to coach them better. You look at teams all over the country and they're consistent at it. The teams that are always near the top are the ones who are the best at protecting the football. It fits both ways, there are times where you get unlucky but it can't keep happening over and over like it did with us last year, we were like the Bad News Bears out there and it just kept happening over and over and you just wanted to stand up in the press box and pull your hair out. You're moving the ball, getting the yards, De'Andre is doing well in the run game, both of your quarterbacks are doing good things, but then we are turning it over at the most uncharacteristic of times and that can't be happening, you can't win football games like that.
Q: Does that affect the playcalling where you know you're moving the ball but every time you give it to a guy he just turns the ball over or can't catch the ball and as a result you can't call that play even though you would've liked to and it might've been the better play?
Morris: Yeah no doubt. It definitely messes with your rhythm as a play caller. The one thing that we are getting close to is that I think we have enough kids now, where we are deep enough to where we can pull kids out or replace them for a bit on the field. We can pull them off and put in the next one. It is not like we don't have any options where we got to stick with this guy because what else do we have behind him? We have kids that are working hard behind the starters, our receiving room looks a lot different this summer, there are kids sitting behind them where they got that look in their eye that they are coming for people's jobs and that is something you definitely get excited to coach. If a kid isn't performing how you need them to be performing, you have to have an option to put in behind them.
Q: How would you characterize the competition right now between Davis and Pat?
Morris: I think it is great, they are both doing great jobs in summer workouts as far as leading the groups, and I haven't seen them act like they are trying to pull certain teammates this way or pull certain teammates that way, I think they understand the competition too. I think they know that the guy who performs the best early on is going to be the guy and you can't argue with that after the ups and downs over the past two years, you can't argue with that. As a coaching staff and as a team, we are so far away from playing political games or dealing with this and that, we just need to win football games and that's it. Whoever gives us the best chance to do that will be the starter, we aren't going to sit here and sugar coat anything and play patty cake or call their moms and do any of that, we understand where we need to go as a program and our kids and coaches have their heads down right now and know what we are focused on.
Q: Do you expect coach Kingsbury to name a starter before fall workouts begin or do you think that is something that will take place in the middle of fall camp?
Morris: I think it will work itself out a couple weeks into it. I know he wants to have a guy heading into those last two weeks where we really start preparing for the upcoming opponent and start pushing those reps towards one guy with the ones. It's big to be in the huddle and be familiar with everyone in the huddle and be able to look in everyone's face and really believe in him and take charge and say hey this is what we are doing and not having everyone go back and forth and being wishy washy about it. I think he really wants to have his guy within the first two to three weeks and say hey here we go and have everybody rally around him. We got a good group in that huddle right now, I mean you look around and you got Le' Raven Clark and Baylen Brown and Jared Kaster, and Alfredo, really the right tackle is the only position on the field where the guy is unproven. Even at receiver you have Dylan and Reginald battling it out and they have played, you got Jakeem and Cameron Batson who have played, you have Ian who really came on last year and then Devin Lauderdale so hopefully a receiver or two, these young guys like Quan Shorts, Tony Brown, KeKe, kids that from the reviews we are getting can really run, have some ball skills but as far as getting in the huddle with a lot of kids who have played football games, we're going to have that on offense so there is going to be no excuses.
