Behind QB Morris, UVA offense putting up national numbers

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia’s offense has posted eye-popping numbers over its fast three-game start, a stark contrast from the first three seasons of Tony Elliott’s reign.

A great part of that early success can be attributed to quarterback Chandler Morris, who brought a ton of experience to the Cavaliers program.

Heading into this weekend’s home opener against Stanford (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ACC Network), UVA ranks No. 8 in the nation in total offense (556 yards per game) No. 17 in scoring (44.7 points per game) and No. 11 in third-down conversion percentage (.585). Elliott’s Cavaliers were abysmal in all three of those categories last season.

Morris has been a calm influence, exhibiting a coolness under heat in the pocket and an uncanny ability to find open receivers in critical third-down situations, even when the pocket breaks down.

Despite the fact that Morris hasn’t played the second half in two of Virginia’s three games, he’s still managed to rank 10th in the ACC in passing with 223.3 yards per game, completing nearly 70 percent of his 89 attempts.

Having garnered experience at Oklahoma, TCU and North Texas prior to his sixth and final year of college ball at Virginia, Morris has been nearly flawless. With the exception of his lone interception at the end of the NC State loss, when he admittedly should have thrown the ball away, it would be difficult to find fault in his game.

The 24-year-old’s efficiency in keeping drives alive on his third-down choices has been impressive.

“It’s play calling as well,” Morris said this week. “I think I’m just kind of trying to dissect what [opponents] are going to do defensively and a lot of that is preparation throughout the week. I spend a lot of time in the film room watching that, studying as much as I can.”

The well-traveled quarterback has absorbed a lot of football knowledge from his father, Coach Chad Morris, along with coordinators from his previous stops. He’s not intimidated when it comes to sharing his thoughts with Virginia’s offensive coaches on what he likes and doesn’t like and the coaches love the give-and-take they share with their QB.

“Chandler takes ownership in the plan, and whether it’s a base down plan, third down, red zone that we practice, he’ll say, ‘Coach, man, I really love this,’ or ‘I’m not too good on this [play],’ and if he’s not comfortable with it, then it’s out,” said offensive coordinator Des Kitchings. “It doesn’t hurt my feelings. So it’s set up so he can go out there and play fast, and that’s what it’s really been about, just the relationship of he and I and Coach (Taylor) Lamb (QB coach), and just a dialogue back-and-forth of understanding what he’s comfortable with.”

It’s not just the relationship, it’s also Morris’ preparation and experience, along with great protection from the offensive line, which hasn’t surrendered a sack this season.

As Kitchings points out, the linemen know exactly what Morris’ pocket habits are a seven-yard drop or a nine-yard drop, or his escape routes if things fall apart.

“They know he’s going to hang in there with them and use the butt of their blocks to find the seams to throw the ball,” Kitchings said. “He also has a good time clock in his mind about when it’s time to get out of there, like on fourth-and-one against William & Mary. He was hanging, hanging, hanging, trying to give the routes a chance to develop, and then he realized, okay, I need to go. He escaped and got some first downs.”

Morris is a prime weapon for Virginia, having thrown for 670 yards and four touchdowns. His numbers would be much greater had he not missed the second half against Coastal Carolina with an injury, and didn’t even make it to halftime against William & Mary because the game was already out of hand.

He’s not the only weapon, though, as UVA boasts perhaps its largest array of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball in years.

The Cavaliers have four running backs, each capable of a 100-yard day and the speed to take it to the house at any time during the game, plus a fleet of receivers with big-play capabilities. UVA has nine receivers averaging at least 10 yards per catch.

All that translates into fun choices for a distributor like Morris.

“It’s huge,” the quarterback smiled. “I trust a lot of those guys, all those guys. They put a lot of stress on the defense. [Defenses] have a lot of guys they have to cover, so I think that’s just going to help us.”

Talking about stressing defenses, Morris believes part of the third-down success is because there’s just so much talent at the skill positions that it’s difficult for defenses to cover them all.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that can touch the football and can make plays, and that really stretches out a defense,” the QB said. “You’ve got to prepare for all of them. So, I think it comes down to our personnel and also the play calling. I think we’ve done a great job of getting the ball out and letting our guys make plays. Then, also, we’re not afraid to run the ball on third down, which is extremely important.”

Stanford has some unique aspects to its defense, particularly with two overhanging edge rushers and the ability to pressure the quarterback. The Cardinal is tied for 16th nationally in QB sacks with nine in three games, a statistic Morris and his O-line are extremely aware of.

“They show a lot of different stuff on defense and try to confuse the quarterback, so it’s going to be a good challenge,” Morris said. “They’re not the traditional defense that you see every day.”

Morris also trusts his offensive line and hangs out with them a lot, treating them to dinner and a night of bowling. There is a tremendous two-way respect between those wide bodies and the QB, which means Stanford’s pass rush won’t find Saturday night as a stroll in the park.

“We haven’t played a clean game, we haven’t played four quarters of our best football, and that’s our goal,” Morris said. “[So far] is just a glimpse of what we can do. I think we can really be a top offense in the country.”