STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — For years, Eric Morris admired what Mike Gundy built at Oklahoma State from afar.
As a former assistant coach at Big 12 rival Texas Tech, he learned about the high-scoring Cowboy offenses, high-level quarterback play and the long list of athletes who weren’t highly recruited but turned out to be great players.
Gundy had a career record of 170-90 at his alma mater and posted winning records every season from 2006 to 2023. Though this is a new and different era, Morris believes the things that made Gundy one of the winningest coaches in college football can carry over.
The former North Texas coach looked to the future while respecting the past when he was introduced as Oklahoma State’s coach on Monday.
“I want to acknowledge my profound appreciation and respect for Coach Gundy and his coaching staff,” he said. “His 20 years of leadership made Oklahoma State into one of the top football programs in America.”
He said Oklahoma State checked all the boxes for him personally and professionally. When discussing whether he could win at Oklahoma State, he apologized to athletic director Chad Weiberg in advance for his language.
“As it relates to the professional, can we win a championship? Sorry, Chad, but my answer to that is hell yes, we can win a damn championship.”
Morris knew through his previous stops about the rowdy crowd at Boone Pickens Stadium and looks forward to being on the right side of that homefield advantage. He said his previous visits as a player and assistant coach didn’t go well.
“I have ringing memories of my ear and those paddles hitting … people are screaming all kinds of things at you,” he said.
Though Oklahoma State finished with a 1-11 record this season, Cowboys fans remained enthusiastic throughout the season. That energy continued with an overflow crowd of 1,100 at the Click Family Alumni Hall Room at the school’s alumni center. He had already won them over, then sealed the deal when mentioning his desire to revive the rivalry with Oklahoma that largely ended when the Sooners moved to the Southeastern Conference.
Morris likes the challenge of rebuilding a program. He took North Texas from 5-7 in his first season four years ago to the American Conference title game this season. Though Morris has fond memories of North Texas, he’s ready to move forward. He said his “100% attention” is on Oklahoma State football and building relationships, a roster and a staff.
“It’s been nice to to finally feel like my feet are on the ground in Stillwater and have one focus, and that’s making Oklahoma State football the best it possibly can be,” he said.
He credits his scrappy approach to being a small town kid who played for Shallowater High School in Texas. He was an undersized receiver at Texas Tech, much the way Gundy was an undersized quarterback at Oklahoma State.
Morris thinks those qualities will help make him a fit in Stillwater.
“You’re so much more proud of the things that I think that we do the hard way,” he said of being a small-town kid. “And so I believe in doing things the hard way, in a tough and gritty way.”
He also likes to develop quarterbacks. He has coached, developed or recruited Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, John Mateer, Cam Ward, Chandler Morris and Drew Mestemaker. Many of those players weren’t heavily recruited.
He asked the crowd to trust him on recruiting that position.
“If I take a three-star quarterback, nobody get mad at me,” Morris said. “Like, that’s all I can say, right? We have a set of qualifications and kind of a formula that we have to recruit these guys.”
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