Dylan Morris came under heavy criticism as the starting quarterback for the Washington Huskies during their 4-8 season in 2021.
Morris, expected to be the backup again this season to Michael Penix Jr., has earned himself a big fan — Ryan Grubb, the Huskies’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach — for how he has handled himself after all that criticism.
“I don’t know if there’s many guys that I admire more than Dylan Morris because I think that there’s grown men that would be able to take about 1% of the criticism that Dylan’s taken, and operate at the level that Dylan operates at,” Grubb said Wednesday about the former Graham-Kapowsin High School star.
In 2021, Morris completed 220 of 362 passes for 2,458 yards with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. But the season started with a shocking loss to Montana and it didn’t get much better.
“He knows the expectations that this community has for this program, and there is nobody more disappointed on a 4-8 season than Dylan,” said Grubb, who said Morris has grown a lot as a player since then. “I think he admitted to himself to things that he needed to get better at and he owned the mistakes that he made.”
Grubb said Morris is one of the hardest workers on the team and does a good job “being in the day — be great today and then tomorrow, do the same thing.”
Grubb said a quarterback has to “have thick skin” and he said Morris has taken that to heart.
“I admire that kid a ton,” Grubb said. “I don’t that I would have had the mental fortitude to blast through some of the stuff that he has and still be really positive.”
Bernard picking up the offense
Grubb said sophomore receiver Germie Bernard, a transfer from Michigan State, has done a good job learning the offense, “but I don’t think he was necessarily used to the tempo that we run at and move at in practice.”
“ (It’s) like, ‘Man, I’ve got to get going quicker and think faster. I’ve got to line up faster.’ So I’ve been impressed with how fast he’s gotten,” Grubb said. “ … Some guys can get super discouraged when they’re not used to a certain type of offense. And I think Germie’s done a great job of buying in and going hard.”
Bernard, from Las Vegas, signed with UW in December 2021 but was released from his letter of intent when receiver coach Junior Adams left for Oregon. He had seven receptions for Michigan State last season, but had no receptions in UW’s 39-28 win over the Spartans.
Penix Jr. said Wednesday that Bernard is always watching film and “he came in and he wanted to be great.”
“He was always trying to do extra throwing stuff with me,” Penix Jr. said. “I was able to get out here a lot with him early on, to try to get that connection.”
Note
The news has been good since sophomore edge rusher Maurice Heims was hurt in a collision late in Monday’s practice. He laid motionless on his back for at least 15 minutes before being taken to the hospital.
UW issued a statement the next day, “Following a collision during Monday’s practice, Maurice Heims was transported to a local hospital where he underwent several medical tests. He was cleared to return home earlier this evening where he is recovering.”
On Monday night, Heims tweeted, “I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers. I’ll be back in no time! Love you all.”