Jalen Hurts story motivated Chandler Morris to 'stay ready, play with a chip'

TCU‘s memorable run to the national championship last season was highlighted by the impressive play of quarterback Max Duggan, who even got an invite to New York in December as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy as a result of his efforts.

But an injury to the Horned Frogs’ starting quarterback Chandler Morris in Week 1 versus Colorado led to Duggan’s stardom, and in a recent interview with On3’s Andy Staples, Morris reflected on losing the starting job following his early injury from a season ago.

“Like I said, it really gave me a lot of hope and kind of kept a chip on my shoulder,” Morris said. “Because you go out and you win the job in camp and you get hurt in the third quarter like 27 plays into the game and you’re done. And then Max goes on and takes advantage of a great opportunity for him and the rest is history.”

Morris pulled back the curtain and was honest about the circumstances of last season, admitting to the struggles of the situation and having to serve as a backup for a third consecutive season.

“So each week it’s hard being a backup, I’d been a backup for a while and it was really hard. It was long nights where I don’t feel like watching film, it’s like okay I didn’t play last week, why do I need to be prepared this week?” Morris asked. “But the moment you don’t prepare is the moment your team’s gonna need you the most.”

Morris drew inspiration from his situation in current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Hurts may have just come off of a career season in the league along with a Super Bowl LVII appearance, but his road there wasn’t easy, as he also had to serve as a backup quarterback for a season in college after being a starter at Alabama.

“And Jalen Hurts, that story I mean that whole season the previous season he’s the starter, they go to the national championship game, he gets pulled in the national championship game at halftime and they go on and win the game and he has a smile on his face after the game,” Morris explained. “But he’s also told and explained how hard it was, it was very difficult. And then the next season he was a backup and kind of having to switch roles and his team needed him at one point, and I think it was the SEC Championship game and he leads them back and goes on and beats Georgia. So really seeing that and kind of getting a chip on my shoulder from that story to just be motivated to stay ready to be there for my teammates.”

Morris actually attended Oklahoma his freshman season, but was not teammates with Hurts for his breakout season with the Sooners that led to him being drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Eagles. But Morris was still able to learn from Hurts firsthand through another experience.

“No, he was the year before. I was at the Elite 11 though I guess the summer going into my senior year and he came and talked to all of us and very impactful. I mean you could just see the fire in his eyes and that was gonna be the season the he was gonna play at OU and it was gonna be really his first season back as a starter,” Morris said.

Hurts threw for 3,851 yards and rushed for 1,298 yards with 52 total touchdowns in the Big 12 following his season as a backup, and hopefully for the Horned Frogs, Morris can reach similar heights this season as the teams starting QB.