North Carolina State University Athletics
Morris Gearing up for Big Challenge
8/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 17, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - You might say that Derek Morris is a big man with big dreams. NC State's massive 6-6, 333-pound junior tackle figures this will be his breakout year, one that he hopes will lead to postseason honors and recognition for both himself and the Wolfpack's entire offensive line. With that in mind, opportunity will most definitely be knocking when Virginia Tech ventures into Carter-Finley Stadium for the Pack's nationally televised opener against the defending ACC champs. Lining up across from Morris on September fourth will be one of the nation's top defensive ends.
"I'm excited; I get to up against one of the best defensive ends in the country in Darryl Tapp," Morris said. "It's hard to explain. When you got up against a guy that's a really good player, you get a rush. You know that you and that man are about to clash heads to see who is going to come out on top. My goal, obviously, is to come out on top, but I know his goal is to come out on top. I know we're definitely going to be going at it."
A first team All-ACC pick last season, Tapp led the Hokies in sacks (8.5), tackles for loss (16.5) and quarterback hurries (23). Tapp, a 6-1, 268-pound senior, was selected to Athlon's preseason All-America squad.
By the time September fourth arrives, however, Morris should be about as prepared as any offensive tackle could be for a player of Tapp's caliber given the fact that he's gone head-to-head with teammate Mario Williams throughout preseason workouts. Making his number `9' look awfully imposing, Williams, like Tapp, has also been recognized on several preseason All-America teams.
"Number nine is the best," said Morris. "I love playing against him. I'm getting him prepared and he's getting me prepared. We've been doing that since we first set foot on this campus. We're doing what we need to do to get each other right and get ready for the season."
Morris is one of the key figures on an offensive line that Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato has identified as perhaps the most important unit on his team. What happened late last fall certainly backs him up. After Morris, center Jed Paulson and guard Leroy Harris went down with injuries, NC State's offense sputtered down the stretch. With the running game virtually non-existent, pass protection for quarterback Jay Davis often broke down, thus making sustained drives all too rare.
The result was a 5-6 mark, the first losing campaign of the Amato-era at State.
This year, Morris and company are starting fresh with a new approach, a new system, new terminology and a new coordinator. After spending the last 22 years in the National Football League, Marc Trestman has introduced his cerebral approach to an offensive group that wants to prove that 2004 was an aberration.
"Coach Trestman has brought a lot of that NFL stuff to NC State and I think it's a great thing," said Morris. "You've got a guy who's been coaching for 20-some years in the league, where I want to be and where 100 percent of these guys want to be one day. Anytime you've got a guy who has coached the greatest players who have played this game and now knowing that he's going to be my coach, you can't be happier with that."
And if the injury bug takes a bite out of this year's offensive line, Morris is confident that NC State will have enough depth to survive better than it did last season. With senior Dwayne Herndon moving over from defense and newcomer John Amanchukwu emerging in preseason camp, the Pack appears to have a few more able bodies available up front.
Others, like tackle James Newby, Kalani Heppe, John McKeon, Luke Lathan and Jon Holt, got valuable playing time a year ago.
"Experience is always a great thing," Morris said. "The older you are, the wiser you get. We've got some guys with experience who have been there, done that. There were some setbacks with the injuries last year but I'm done with that."
He's done with that and looking to the future, eyeing a big match-up against Darryl Tapp and Virginia Tech on September 4.
