NORMAN — Hitting the transfer portal is a roll of the dice.
Sure, a chance of scenery can be a major boost to a career. But there can also be unforeseen bumps along the road.
Wanya Morris’ first year in Norman didn’t turn out as he had planned once he entered the transfer portal.
Coming from Tennessee, Morris went from starting regularly to just trying to get on the field for Bill Bedenbaugh’s unit.
Morris saw the field six times last year, something which the talented offensive tackle took as a learning experience as opposed to a negative.
“I feel like I really needed that way because I never got my redshirt freshman year, I guess,” Morris said during a media availability on Wednesday. “So that helped me mature a lot and grow up and see a lot of things about myself I needed to see.
“This year, I feel like I come with a better intensity, a better focus. I’m able to do things and see things I couldn’t do or see before. It’s all been a help.”
Morris’ mentality shift was spurred on by an important conversation.
After the Alamo Bowl, Morris returned home to start the offseason.
A conversation with his mother helped him look within himself to flip the switch on a whole new approach which has propelled him this spring.
“I was just sitting in the car with my mom one day,” Morris said. “She said ‘Wanya, is there something you still want to do?’ And we just broke down and had a long talk. She said ‘first, you have to figure out who Wanya is. Your answer will follow after that. As long as you keep your faith in God and figure out who Wanya is, you’ll be fine.’
“I’m a firm believer in the saying that everything happens for a reason. He has his reasons and I listen. If you listen hard enough, you’ll actually hear him. That’s what happened with me. I heard the calling. There are things that I had to change in my life and that’s what I actually did.”
Now as Morris and the rest of the offensive line learns Jeff Lebby’s new scheme, he’s much better prepared by his work off the field so that he can compete for a starting job back on the field.
“It all comes with preparation and how you prepare,” Morris said. “If you prepare the right way, you can move faster. You can do things without thinking.
“… I just needed to do the extra things and that’s what I’m working on this year, doing the extra things, doing more than I could before.”
Morris’ work behind the scenes could come to fruition in 2022.
Tyrese Robinson’s decision to enter the NFL Draft opens up a starting spot at right tackle. And with new quarterback Dillon Gabriel being left-handed, it’s even more important for OU to have a talented right tackle to protect Gabriel’s blind side.
Protecting a lefty wouldn’t be anything new to Morris, as he played all throughout high school with a southpaw signal caller.
“I was kind of used to it, I guess,” Morris said. “It hasn’t been much of a change. Blocking on the blind side, your set is different. You can’t set with as much width, you have to set with more depth and be more prone to the inside moves.
“Playing on the front side, the front set tackle is easier because you get to play with more width than depth. It’s easier.”
There’s still plenty of time before the Sooners take the field this fall, but Morris is trying to make the most of his second season with the Sooners, as he knew he had to look within himself after a tumultuous first 12 months on campus.
“I had to change my mindset, the way I think, the way I did things,” Morris said. “Obviously the way I was doing things wasn’t working.
“I just felt like I was tired of people telling me how good I can be and started doing something about it. I had to change my routine up.”
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