UW-bound QB might be best in the Northwest, but he still has to do dishes

Dylan Morris recently committed to play at the University of Washington, he’s thrown for more than 4,000 yards in two seasons at Graham-Kapowisn High School with two seasons to go and on Thursday he was selected as the No. 1 quarterback for the second consecutive year at the Northwest 9 quarterback camp.

So how does he keep himself grounded?

“My parents,” said Morris, the quarterback who officially begins his junior year next month. “They keep me doing chores in my house and being a teenager. I still have to do the dishes.”

And that’s what Taylor Barton said most stood out to him about Morris at his five-day camp at Northwest University, featuring some of the top young signal-callers from Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The camp ends with Barton and the rest of his staff ranking the top nine quarterbacks.

Morris ranked just ahead of Nooksack Valley quarterback Casey Bauman (Montana State commit), Meridian’s Simon Burkett (Eastern Washington commit) and Sheldon’s Michael Johnson Jr., the No. 5-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the nation in the 2019 class whose top offers include LSU, Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon.

“It’s great to have that recognition,” Morris said. “But I couldn’t do it without these coaches here helping me and guiding me and all the other guys here supporting me and I’m supporting them and just competing. It was definitely fun.”

It’s Barton’s third year hosting the camp, with UW commit Jacob Sirmon earning the top billing in the inaugural Northwest 9 and Morris being selected the past two years. Barton is a former UW quarterback who is now an analyst for Root Sports.

Sirmon did not participate this year.

“So many kids are robots and they are trying so hard because they want to get stars or rankings or this or that,” Barton said. “But Dylan has an infectious personality. He is always smiling and having fun and you can tell he really enjoys the game.”

And he has a really strong arm.

Morris is listed at 6 feet and 175 pounds, but he out threw many much bigger than himself, earned a plaque for winning the camp’s strong-arm competition. He threw the ball 68 yards.

How often has Barton seen that in his lifetime?

“Not very often,” Barton said. “His arm strength is ridiculous. The way he is able to fling it is just crazy. And it’s a tight spin and it just pops out of his hands.

“Torque is something that is missing in so many quarterbacks these days. They are trying to squat and jump at it. I tell people, ‘That is not where your power base is.’ … You watch Dylan and you see him snap across his core compared to guys who squat and jump and lunge and are taking power away. He really gets the most out of his abilities.”

Morris is also a shortstop on Graham-Kapowsin’s baseball team.

“I’ve always been able to throw far and hard,” Morris said. “I think that comes from playing baseball since I was little and always throwing.”

Barton also introduced for the first time a “Next 9” – the top quarterback who will be a freshman the upcoming season.

That went to a familiar name – Sam Huard. He’ll be a freshman at Kennedy Catholic this year and his father is former Puyallup, UW and NFL quarterback Damon Huard. His uncles are former quarterbacks Brock and Luke Huard.

“I was just excited because I’ve never really done a camp like this yet,” Sam Huard said. “I’ve done a couple college camps, but with this and a lot of the top quarterbacks in the Northwest, it was great to be able to learn from the older kids.”

He was asked where he’d rank his father and uncles – right now – in a Northwest 3.

“I’d have to say my Uncle Brock,” said Sam Huard, choosing a fellow family lefty. “My dad is getting a little older and he’s always complaining about his shoulders.”

The complete Northwest 9 rankings: Graham-Kapowsin’s Dylan Morris, Nooksack Valley’s Casey Bauman, Meridian’s Simon Burkett, Sheldon’s Michael Johnson Jr., Glacier Peak’s Ayden Ziomas, Woodinville’s Jaden Sheffey, Union’s Lincoln Victor, Lakeside of Seattle’s AJ Allen and Woodland’s Wyatt Harsh.

“Obviously the last day is about the rankings and competition, but really, for me, it’s great to see throughout the week the best this region has to offer and what these kids are about,” Barton said. “Not only are they super talented, but they are super high-character kids, too, and that’s an important thing to me.

“For a lot of these kids football is going to end at some point. And I’m happy to know as a father of children and a person in the community that the future is very bright for these kids down the road.”

This story was originally published August 3, 2017 at 2:36 PM with the headline "UW-bound QB might be best in the Northwest, but he still has to do dishes."