Dylan Morris, going from 363 passing attempts to just 16 in a year's time as a University of Washington quarterback, really hasn't had to deal with much of a pass rush in recent months, with pressure coming at him from the corners.
Yet on Tuesday afternoon, the former Husky starting signal-caller found himself surrounded by beat reporters for the first time since Michael Penix Jr., the Indiana transfer who won the job this season and was so efficient he earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors, announced at the team banquet that he was returning for yet another season in Montlake.
Morris once more presented himself as a loyal teammate, as a Penix supporter and as the next man in line should anything happen at the UW quarterback position and require him to take over the team.
Still, rather than reaffirm that he wasn't leaving Montlake with football eligibility remaining no matter, Morris simply deferred his decision-making process to after the Alamo Bowl game against Texas on Dec. 29 in San Antonio.
"I'm not going to weight my options, not yet," Morris said.
Before you read anything into that mindset and presume that he'll be moving on, know that he prefaced his comment with the following thoughts.
"I've got a couple more years," Morris said, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining. "Honestly, the last thing I want to do is leave this place. I love this place. I've wanted to play here my whole life. Having that opportunity has been nothing but a dream. Obviously, I want to stick it out here and end my career here."
Yet he called losing his job as a two-year starter "a learning experience." He mentioned how he's gained a lot of quarterback insight while simply watching Penix operate in such a poised manner and having offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb coach him and the others.
At the same time, and Morris didn't say this, but a large faction of the Husky fan base doesn't hide its displeasure for him because of last year's 4-8 season and it might be hard for him to continue on when you hear nothing but boos no matter what you do.
"We have one more game to win," Morris said. "I'm not putting too much thought into it right now. I'm definitely a team guy first and I've got a responsibility on this team to do what I can to prepare and to help Mike on the sideline.
"I'm definitely going to put my all into that and then after that weigh my options."
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