‘A steady leader’: QB Dylan Morris overcomes adversity to clinch UW Huskies’ comeback win
When he was a freshman, Dylan Morris started his first game for Graham-Kapowsin High School.
He was inexperienced and young and facing off against 18-year-old seniors. Still, he told The News Tribune in 2018 he believed his first pass would be a touchdown.
It was intercepted instead.
As Graham-Kapowsin head coach Eric Kurle watched from the sideline, he worried how the mistake would affect the first-year quarterback. He quickly learned that it didn’t.
“That’s what people are going to find out,” Kurle said in a phone interview earlier this month. “It’s not going to affect him.”
If Morris’ needed to prove that again, he took care of it during Washington’s 24-21 victory over Utah on Saturday night. Just like in high school, Morris is a first-year starting quarterback. The redshirt freshman didn’t face much adversity in UW’s first two wins — no interceptions, no fumbles, no sacks.
That all changed against Utah.
The Huskies fell behind 21-0 at halftime as Morris completed just 10-of-18 passes for 77 yards. He threw two interceptions — the first on UW’s opening drive, the second on a Hail Mary pass to end the half. He nearly added a third. But when UW entered the locker room, head coach Jimmy Lake said Morris was as positive as anyone on the team.
“You could look him in his eyes,” Lake said, “and tell that he was going to lead our team.”
Morris completed 13-of-20 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. On UW’s first possession, he led the Huskies 72 yards in six plays to score on a 2-yard run by Kamari Pleasant. And after a 26-yard field goal from Peyton Henry and a 21-yard touchdown pass from Morris to Cade Otton, UW had pulled within 21-17 with 2:49 left in the third quarter.
That’s when adversity struck again. The offense started to sputter. The Huskies went three-and-out on their next offensive possession. And after UW’s defense came up with a stop, Morris threw his third interception of the game. Utah took over with 6:47 left in the game.
Lake could have been Kurle right then, standing the sideline waiting to see how his young quarterback would respond. Just like in high school, Morris walked calmly to the sideline. He told his team that the defense would get the ball back. He said the game-winning drive was coming.
“He just wants to be great at everything he does,” Kurle said, “but he also doesn’t put so much pressure on himself that he’s broken down if it doesn’t work out or if we don’t win at something. If there’s a setback, he’s going to find a way to get better. If there’s a positive thing, he’s going to push past a positive thing to find something else he can work on.”
Morris’s words were prophetic. UW’s forced a three-and-out, giving UW the ball back with 4:31 left on the clock. The Morris got to work. 12 plays. 88 yards. 3:55. He completed 6-of-9 passes of 77 yards, including the game-winning 16-yard touchdown pass to Otton. He scrambled on the play, hitting Otton in-stride so the tight end could turn quickly toward the end zone.
“DMo, he didn’t flinch after the first half,” said senior defensive back Elijah Molden. “He’s a leader on offense. He’s a young guy, but he’s a leader on offense.”
Said Otton: “He’s just the same. Not too high, not too low. He’s a steady leader of our team and man, it showed up in the second half, for sure.”
Even a bad snap couldn’t shake him. During the final drive, the candence was miscommunicated between Morris and center Luke Wattenberg on 2nd-and-10 the Utah 44-yard-line. Morris secured the ball anyway, and then he completed a 7-yard pass to Otton, who is quickly becoming his favorite target.
“Everything that I’ve been talking about with Dylan, about not flinching and not panicking, probably that moment right there really puts it in a capsule,” Lake said. “It’s a snap coming when it’s not supposed to be snapped and he grabs the ball, looks downfield, gets back to his reads and throws a strike to Cade Otton.”
“That’s the type of leadership Dylan shows. That’s the type of calm that he has through adverse situations. Really that sequence right there really shows what Dylan Morris is all about.”
After Morris threw the game-winning touchdown, he sprinted toward the sideline in celebration. As his teammates swarmed him, Morris emphatically tapped crook of his arm . The message didn’t need words.
Ice in his veins.
This story was originally published November 29, 2020 at 1:14 PM.
