 | | Head football coach Guy Morriss will stop by for a live chat Friday, Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. CDT. |
Guy Morris guided Baylor to a 3-9 record last season, including a victory over two-time defending Big 12 North champion Colorado, in his first season as the Bears' head coach. Morriss came to Baylor with 14 years of experience as a coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He spent 18 years in the National Football League, where he was an All-Pro player, played in two Super Bowls and coached for three seasons. Morriss arrived in Waco from Lexington, Ky., where he spent six seasons helping to turn around the Wildcat football program - the last two as head coach. In 2002, Kentucky turned some heads with a 7-5 record, including wins over Mississippi State, eventual SEC West Division champion Arkansas and 17th-ranked Louisville. The seven-win season in 2002 was only the fifth since 1955 for Kentucky, which received votes in the AP Top 25 poll. UK's defeats included a four-point setback vs. South Carolina, a seven-point loss at then-No. 7 Florida and an unbelievable three-point defeat on the final play vs. then-No. 17 LSU. In Morriss' two seasons as head coach at Kentucky, 10 Wildcat players earned All-SEC recognition and two were named All-American. In his six seasons, four UK offensive linemen were selected first-team All-SEC and three earned freshman All-America honors. |
 |
 |  | Guy Morriss: Good morning everyone, let's get started. |
|
|
| Ken (Dallas): How much more capable is our offense this year in being able to learn / implement more of the offensive playbook? |
| | Guy Morriss: We can add a significant amount. We throw a whole lot at them and pare it down for game day. As far as the whole playbook, we've got a lot more in and we've been repping a lot. We've put all of systems in place. |
|
|
| Dan (Dallas): Coach, I think I speak for all Baylor fans when I say "thank you" for the passion you have approached the football program here at Baylor. My son and I have had season tickets for the past 4 seasons (he is now 5 and loves Baylor football). How would you recommend that Baylor fans like us help you in your effort to make Baylor football the type of program we would all like to see again? Also, would you ever consider having a day when the kids could go down and run around on the field after a game and get autographs (it would make my son's year)? |
| | Guy Morriss: First of all, keep coming to the games and bring friends and your friends' friends. As for the autographs, the Big 12 and other conferences are really making an effort this year to keep the field clear after the games, so I'm not sure that would work. However, we do hold a Meet the Bears day every fall and that is a great opportunity for children and adults to meet our team and get autographs of our players. Our players are excellent ambassadors for our university. |
|
|
| Robert B (Dallas): How does coaching in the Big 12 compare to coaching in the SEC? Any surprises? |
| | Guy Morriss: The Big 12 South is just about the same as the SEC East, their both great conferences. You better be ready to play every time you step on the field in both leagues. |
|
|
| David @Grapeland, TX.: Coach Morris, I speak for all of our alumni when I say that the lack of discipline(fumbles, int's , missed tackles, penalties, etc.)of our previous teams has hammered the football program and it's future. Can you change that, and if not, WHY? |
| | Guy Morriss: I think we are changing it, but old habits die hard. But, absolutely it can be changed. |
|
|
| Jeff (Dallas): Hi coach, I'm really looking forward to this season. With another Spring and Summer of coaching that the staff has been able to offer, I can't wait to see the progress that the team will have made. My question is as follows: You've made some comments to the media (some probably taken out of context) regarding Baylor's lack of urgency regarding its football program, its need to improve facilities, and its poor PR efforts last season. These comments led to newspaper articles and other publicity that cast Baylor in a less than favorable light. Do you believe that going public (to non-Baylor stakeholders) with such concerns is the most constructive way to get these concerns resolved? Thanks, and Sic'em! |
| | Guy Morriss: The whole thing started with a question at Big 12 Media Day with regard to what we need to move this program forward. I responded as honestly as I could to the question, while it wasn't my intent for that to become the focal point of the interview, it did allow me to bring the issue to the forefront and has gotten the program's needs off center and moving forward. If the non-Baylor stakeholders can't handle it, I can't help that. My goal is to move this program forward and get us competitive in our conference. We're working everyday to make sure that happens. Nationally, there's a tremendous football facilities arms race and we need to make an investment in this area if we're going to go where we want to go. |
|
|
| waco: why start dane king when he has no experience in division 1 play...why not let shawn bell stay in the position he earned at the end of last season and see where he takes the team? |
| | Guy Morriss: Every position is open for competition, whether you're a starter a returning player or a walk-on. Our job as a staff is to evaluate every practice and put the best players on the field that we believe give us the best chance to win. I anticipate we'll have an announcement about the quarterbacks in a day or two. |
|
|
| John (Dallas): I believe that games are won in the trenches. What do you look for in offensive and defensive linemen when recruiting, and how do we fare this year in those positions? |
| | Guy Morriss: We look for athletic ability. We want OL that are not as big as we've inherited, we ask them to do a lot of pulling, trapping and powers - leading screens. They've got to be able to run. The DL are the same way, they've got to be able to run, they don't necissarily have to be big. We're on some good ones, we can't mention specific names, but we think they can help us win ball games. We just need to be more athletic. |
|
|
| Steve (Chicago, IL): Hi Coach, It doesn't seem that Terrance Parks is any longer in the running for the starting quarterback slot. Do you see him coming along well and just needing more maturity? He seems like a good athlete and has great size for a Big 12 QB. Thanks for your hard work, and see you in Birmingham. Sic' em Bears!!! |
| | Guy Morriss: For all intents and purposes he's not figuring into the quarterback job this year, but if he continues to mature he will figure into the plans next year. In the meantime, he has some things to work on. He's very athletic and should battle for time in the future. |
|
|
| Scott (Pflugerville): Does the success of the other sports this year at Baylor help the football program? If so, how. Good Luck on the season. the fight the team showed last year got me to buy season tickets for the first time. |
| | Guy Morriss: Absolutely. The visibility we've gotten through the Olympic Games has cast Baylor in a positive light. I'm hopeful that Darold and Jeremy will bring home another gold in the relay. What they've done and our other teams have accomplished the past year, such as men's tennis and women's basketball, have fueled our fires to make this program better. |
|
|
| Shelton, Dallas, TX: What is the best way to notify Baylor of an excellent football player currently in high school? Does it matter if he is out of state? |
| | Guy Morriss: The best way is to pick up the phone and call our office at (254) 710-3637. You can also shoot us an e-mail at fb_recruiting@baylor.edu. |
|
|
| jerry: how are the corners looking - wilson, airline, todd? |
| | Guy Morriss: The corners have looked great, the secondary is the strongest part of our football team and we have a lot of depth there. We may be young, but we have some guys who can make some plays, but it's important that we get a good pass rush to make our whole defense better. |
|
|
| Joe (Richmond, Va.): Are you planning on using any of the incoming freshmen this year? |
| | Guy Morriss: The one possibility is Brad Bullitt at backup linebacker. We plan to redshirt everyone else if possible. |
|
|
| Kevin (Orlando, FL): Coach Morriss, Thanks for taking time to chat with us. Who are some of the players that have stepped it up since Spring practice? Thanks. |
| | Guy Morriss: Paul Mosely, Dominique Zeigler, Montez Murphy, Justin Crooks, Willie Andrews, Khari Long. Those are some guys that have really stepped up on the field and as leaders either by example, vocally or both. |
|
|
| Nathan Adderley (Bahamas): Hi i'm baylor gradute..........what kind of chance does baylor have this year and how long do you think it will be until we are able to compete with the big names schools in the big 12? every year i see glimpse's of promise and then we take steps backward.....do you think that will be the case this season? |
| | Guy Morriss: Let's try to look forward with optimism than talk about the past. I've said since the beginning of camp, it is very important that we get off to a good start. The UAB loss hurt us the following week against North Texas, we've got to get off to a good start and take it from there. We feel good about ourselves heading into our first game, and the players have dedicated themselves for next week. We'll be ready. |
|
|
| St. John Indiana: Coach Morriss are there any walk-ons who you forsee helping the team in the next few years? |
| | Guy Morriss: We have 11 guys who came here as walk-ons and have earned scholarships, so those guys will all be helping us this year. The walk-on program is a very important part of our program and it's long-term success. |
|
|
| Leon-Rockwall: Regarding your new desire for an on campus practice facility...sources tell me that you have $5.5 million committed from the usual suspects......how much more do you need and what is the plan to raise this money? |
| | Guy Morriss: We probably need to get up to about $20 million total in order to get it right the first time. We desperately need the facility to help us keep pace in the Big 12. Since the Big 12 was formed, 11 of 12 schools have spent $38 million or more on football facilities, be it stadium enhancement, practice facilities, recruiting facilities and the like. That's one of the reasons I believe it is so important for us to invest in this project. I'm taking an active role in the fund-raising efforts for this project and if anyone is interested or able to help, call Ian McCaw or Doug Smith today. |
|
|
| Derrick---Houston: Coach----I keep hearing how you are reaching out to the former players and thus trying to get the jerseys up of those of us who played beyond BU.....what is the status of these efforts and do we need to come help you put them back up ourselves? See ya on game day! |
| | Guy Morriss: The project is underway and we're hoping to have them up by the first home game. It's important to me that we recognize the tradition of our past and the great players of our past. Tradition helps sell our program to recruits. Come see us when you can. Our former players are always welcome in this program. |
|
| | Guy Morriss: Thanks for all of the great questions today. If I don't see you at UAB, I'll see you at the home opener against Texas State on Sept. 11. We need your support now, more than ever, to get this program turned around. I'll be back sometime next month for another chat. |
|
|
|
