On The Road Again

More than 1,200 alumni in Texas met with head football coach Guy Morriss in February during his multicity tour, which included stops in Houston, The Woodlands, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin. 
Morriss hit the road to update alumni on the state of the University's football program, as well as to garner support for the upcoming season. "There's so much history and tradition at Baylor. We've got to just get it revived and get people excited about Baylor football again," he said. "There's not a problem that we've got that cannot be corrected -- it's just going to take a little time." 
Promising an open-door policy between his office and fans, Morriss encouraged alumni to communicate with his coaching staff. "You can help us evaluate plays. You can help us recruit. You can devise a few plays," he joked. "We probably won't use them, but we'll have some fun." In return, Morriss asked that alumni be positive when talking about Baylor athletics in public. "You never know. Someone standing next to you may have a son or daughter who is looking for a place to go play football or be an athlete, and one negative comment can really turn people off." 
Doug Smith, executive director of the Bear Foundation, said he appreciated Morriss' candor. "He's not going to say what people want to hear, but how it is. He's so down-to-earth," Smith said. "It was just so refreshing ... to see our Baylor people leave a room feeling good about the athletic program and the University." 
Getting the football program back on track will involve the entire Baylor family, Morriss said. "We've all got to pull the same direction, with the same goal. We're going to do our part from Waco," he said. He and the nine members of his coaching staff, all of whom came with him from Kentucky, will focus on fundamentals with the players. 
"We're not flashy. We're just old-fashioned football coaches who will get in there and grind every day. And to me, that's all it is," he said. "We're not going to try to outscheme anybody, we're going to try to outexecute people." 
Alumna Debbie Buckalew Campbell of The Woodlands considers herself a lifelong Baylor athletics fan. She says she was impressed that Morriss and his entire staff would make the move to Waco. "They appear to have a strong work ethic and strong family values, and I think those qualities, as well as the commitment that they seem to have to high school athletics, will contribute significantly to the program," she said. 
In early spring recruiting, Morriss said he's looked for student-athletes who can "help us win the conference and who want to be at Baylor -- that's the most important thing to me." In the future, he plans to redshirt as many recruits as possible so they can get a head start in the classroom as well as the weight room. Regardless, starting positions will be up for grabs each spring. "I believe that competition brings out the best in all of us," he said. 
Morriss said he will be proactive about making sure students are performing well academically. "While our coaches are game planning, I'll be the guy who gets out on campus. I'm going to check classes," he said. "I'm going to get to know our professors. We're going to have a system in place so these kids don't slip through the cracks." 
Paul Gartner is a Fort Worth alumnus who is a vice president for the Baylor Bear Foundation. He said he heard positive feedback from other alumni in attendance. "The people I've talked to are very impressed with the credentials of Coach Morriss," he said. "They believe he's got the background, the work ethic, the experience, the integrity to bring Baylor football back to excellence."