For most of a week, Dylan Morris has been the main man at quarterback again for the University of Washington football team. It's been a while since he ran the whole show, 14 games over two seasons to be exact.
Subbing in as the No. 1 guy for a sore-armed Michael Penix Jr., Morris seemed comfortable enough with extended repetitions set aside for him while running the DeBoer/Grubb offense.
Penix's quarterback absence has been newsworthy, as has the extended audition given freshman Austin Mack, whose 6-foot-6 frame and strong arm reminds of retired NFL great Ben Roethlisberger, but Morris' elevated status, if only brief, shouldn't be discounted either.
He's been pinpoint with his passes this week and confident in his decision-making while directing the first-unit offense. He's not Penix, but he's a better Morris.
After leading the Pac-12 in interceptions with a dozen in 2021, Morris more often tucks the ball under his arm and keeps it rather than forcing an unnecessary turnover, all at the constant urging of Husky offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.
"I'm just taking advantage of the reps I've got right now and every day coming out and trying to be my best self," Morris said. "We're putting in a lot of work with the guys and we're just building on what we're doing, watching the film and going back to work the next day."
In this age of the transfer portal, Morris has been as resilient as much as he's been humbled in going from a two-season starter to Penix's back-up last year and most likely his understudy this season, too.
Morris, however, makes grown-up rather than emotional decisions in sticking around the UW football program to hopefully get another shot at leading the team this season or the next, let alone learn as much as he can about coaching from the Kalen DeBoer staff for down-the-road career purposes.
"Whenever I'm done playing, at whatever point that is, I want to get into coaching," he said. "I've built a lot of good relationships in my time here and I love football so much I don't think I could deal without it."
Whatever the 6-foot, 197-pound junior chooses these days, he's deciding for two. On June 30, he became engaged to his girl friend of more than a decade, Samantha, who he started dating in the seventh grade of middle school in Graham, Washington.
"I explained to her I want to be a coach and that's a tough life for spouse, but she's totally on board with that," Morris said. "She totally understands and stepped out of it and let me make my decision by myself."
Working with DeBoer and Grubb, and alongside Penix for that matter, Morris has rebuilt his football confidence after being made a major scapegoat for the 4-8 season in 2021 while operating out of John Donovan's dooms-day pro-style offense.
While hard-edged Husky fans seemingly won't ever cut Morris any slack, the coaching staff likes the idea of having a two-year starter, an experienced veteran, in reserve should he be needed. Few Power 5 teams have someone so battle-tested in the back-up role.
A year from now, Morris no doubt will enter the UW quarterback competition as the No. 1 guy, with the job his to lose and Penix off pursuing an NFL career.
People conveniently forget how unflappable Morris was when he led the Huskies to a pair of last-second victories over Utah in 2020 and Stanford in 2021, in particular pulling him and his teammates out of a 21-0 deficit against the Utes. It wasn't all interceptions and losses.
In the post-Penix era, this well-traveled quarterback will have to fend off the touted Mack, San Diego State transfer Will Haskell and incoming 2024 recruit Demaricus Davis to fully regain what was once his.
Yet Morris has seen and experienced it all. Say what you want, but you can't hurt him, and he and his family know how nasty you can be on the internet. He's going to be a coach some day. However, he's not done with quarterbacking just yet.
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