Eric Morris at North Texas starting to get some national media attention...

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Despite being a former receiver under Mike Leach at Texas Tech, Morris has a well-earned reputation as one of the best quarterback whisperers around. He recruited and coached Patrick Mahomes and Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield as an assistant in Lubbock, plucked eventual No. 1 pick Cam Ward from the obscurity of running the wing T as Incarnate Word’s head coach and made one of the few FBS offers for current Oklahoma star John Mateer when he signed out of high school with Washington State. Virginia’s Chandler Morris, who has the Cavaliers in the thick of the College Football Playoff race after spending last year in Denton, Texas, is another protégé.

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The coaching Morris (no relation to Chandler) has certain nonnegotiables when he initially sets eyes on a QB, particularly a quick release. He dislikes having to tweak or coach a player’s throwing motion so having a high baseline to work with is another box to tick before diving into footwork, overall arm talent, accuracy and more. Figuring out how quickly high schoolers or transfers can process and retain information is also paramount.

Then there’s the matter of seeing it all come together up close.

“We want to see these kids throw in person. I mean, we won’t ever take a kid if I haven’t seen him throw in person live—to see the way they react, see the way they take coaching. We love them to play other sports, too,” Morris says. “We saw Mahomes play basketball. We saw Cam Ward on the basketball court. We saw Baker Mayfield on the baseball diamond. We saw John Mateer on the diamond.

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