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“In the second half of the season, Morriss had the Wildcats playing very good football against the likes of LSU, Georgia, and Tennessee. Couple that with the development of Jared Lorenzen and it looks like the ex-offensive line coach might be building a nice little foundation in Lexington.” –– Richard Cirminiello, sportswriter for CollegeFootballNews.com Those words summarize the progress Guy Morriss made in his first year as head coach of the Wildcats. Taking over the program in Feb. 2001 – under the most challenging of circumstances – Morriss calmly devised a plan and executed it with determination. The new Wildcat coach assembled a veteran, accomplished coaching staff and built a team that combined an exciting, pass-oriented offense with the fundamentals of defense and special teams. After learning the nuances of the Morriss brand of football early in the 2001 campaign, the Wildcats’ claws got sharper in mid-season. Louisiana State, the eventual Southeastern Conference champion, escaped a visit to Lexington by scoring a touchdown in the final seconds of the game. The Wildcats followed with gallant efforts in back-to-back road trips to Georgia and Mississippi State, pushing both sets of Bulldogs to the wire. Kentucky returned to the victory column with a 56-30 win at Vanderbilt, earning National Player of the Week honors for quarterback Jared Lorenzen, who threw for 453 yards and six touchdowns. A week later, sixth-ranked Tennessee came to Lexington with national championship dreams. Those dreams became nightmares for more than three quarters, until a field goal with 2:49 to play allowed the Volunteers to squeak by with a 38-35 win. It was the most points that Kentucky had scored against Tennessee since 1893. That game epitomized the Wildcats’ progress. In the second half of the season, beginning with the games of Oct. 20, Kentucky led the league in passing offense (376 yards per game) and ranked third in total offense (456.2 per game) while scoring an average of 29.8 points. Those efforts did not go unnoticed by long-time observers of Kentucky football.
“… great strides were made this year toward restoring respectability to the program. The constraints Coach Morriss has had to operate under … created an uphill battle for Coach Morriss and his staff. Coach Morriss and staff did not attempt a quick fix, but, instead, began with the basics, building a balanced program from the ground up … I applaud ... the support of this staff that has reintroduced these young men to blocking and tackling.” Indeed, Morriss has worked to include everyone in order to unify a program that has been challenged by NCAA probation. He has made a point of reaching out to former players to keep them close to the team. He has been active in the community and around the South, making numerous speaking appearances to alumni clubs and civic organizations. He has been very accessible to the media. And, of course, Morriss has been highly aggressive in recruiting, working to rebuild relationships with high school coaches in and out of the Commonwealth.
“Morriss should be commended for trying to highlight high school football. He has mended a lot of fences that were torn down by his predecessor ... His relationship with the state’s coaches has been exemplary.”
“He’s really going about it the right way. He’s trying to make things work.”
“I’ve seen him three or four times. He’s been to our campus. He’s making a real effort to get to know all the high school coaches. He’s doing everything possible to do that.” Morriss also has earned the respect of his players with a fair, but no-nonsense approach. Morriss beefed up the team’s off-season conditioning by instituting stringent 6 a.m. workouts, designed to toughen the team both physically and mentally. The players, realizing that significant improvement is needed, embraced the added work with enthusiasm. Indeed, it was the players themselves who assumed a significant role in Morriss’ promotion to head coach. Just a few days before Morriss was named, a committee of players visited the UK director of athletics. The players said that, if a coaching change had to be made, they wanted Morriss as their head coach. Later, the UK administration confirmed that the players’ recommendation carried significant weight when the decision was finalized. Morriss has been earning the respect of his Wildcat players since he arrived at UK in 1997 as assistant head coach and offensive line coach. An outstanding teacher of line play, Morriss has played a central role in the record-setting offensive numbers posted by the Wildcats. Over the last five seasons, the Wildcats have scored more points and generated more yards than any five-year period in school history. UK led the SEC in total offense in 1998 and 2000. The UK record book for passing and total offense has been rewritten and numerous Southeastern Conference and NCAA records also have been broken. During the 2000 season, Morriss’ O-Line did an excellent job of protecting Lorenzen, who broke six NCAA records for passing and total offense by a freshman. The line allowed only 22 sacks, the fewest of Morriss’ five seasons at UK. Guard/tackle Omar Smith was named first-team All-SEC and tackle Antonio Hall was selected first-team True Freshman All-America and Freshman All-SEC. Morriss faced a formidable task in the 1999 season, replacing all five starters from the 1998 line, but he handled the challenge admirably. Morriss’ youthful unit – not a senior among them – enabled UK to post solid offensive numbers and advance to the HomePoint.com Music City Bowl. Guard Kip Sixbery earned first-team Freshman All-America honors. Morriss’ 1998 line was the power plant for the UK offense that set single-season school records for points and total offense en route to a berth in the Outback Bowl -- UK’s first New Year’s Day appearance in 47 years. Two more linemen were honored, as tackle Kris Comstock was chosen first-team All-SEC and tackle Matt Brown was a third-team Freshman All-American. Morriss had another first-team All-SEC honoree, guard John Schlarman, in the 1997 campaign. All totaled, he has had three first-team All-SEC offensive linemen and three freshman All-America linemen during his term at UK. Kentucky has ranked in the nation’s top 20 in passing offense all five years that Morriss has been with the team and in the nation’s top 15 in total offense in three of those seasons. In 1996, the year before Morriss’ arrival, UK finished 109th in the nation in total offense. Morriss came to UK from Mississippi State, where he coached the offensive line in 1996. MSU tackle Brent Smith garnered first-team All-SEC honors and was a second-round selection of the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League draft. Offensive success is nothing new for Morriss, who has 18 years of National Football League experience, 15 years as a player and three as a coach. A native of Colorado City, Tex., Morriss was an All-Southwest Conference offensive guard at Texas Christian University. Following his senior year, he played in four all-star games – the Blue-Gray Game, Senior Bowl, Coaches All-America Game, and the College All-Star Game. Morriss went on to a 15-year playing career in the NFL. He played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1973-83. He played in the 1981 Super Bowl, was named All-Pro in 1981, and was team captain for five seasons. He played for the New England Patriots from 1984-87 and played in the 1986 Super Bowl. Morriss began his coaching career with the Patriots in 1988-89. He was the offensive coordinator at Mansfield (Tex.) High School in 1991. He was appointed head coach of the Washington Marauders of the Professional Spring Football League in 1992, but the league ceased operations just before the start of the season. Morriss took his first collegiate coaching position with Valdosta State University in 1992-93. He returned to the professional ranks with the Arizona Cardinals in 1994 and the Canadian Football League’s San Antonio Texans in 1995. San Antonio was second in the CFL in points scored and advanced to the semifinals of the Grey Cup playoffs. Morriss and his wife, Jackie, have five daughters – Colleen, Melanie, Kerry, Savannah Rae, and Austin Leigh.
The Guy Morriss File
Personal
Education
Playing Career Coaching Career New England (NFL) Offensive Line 1988-89 Mansfield, Tex., HS Offensive Coordinator 1991 Washington (PSFL) Head Coach 1992 Valdosta State Offensive Line 1992-93 Arizona (NFL) Offensive Line 1994 San Antonio (CFL) Offensive Line 1995 Mississippi State Offensive Line 1996 Kentucky Assistant Head Coach, Offensive Line 1997-2000 Kentucky Head Coach 2001-
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