Maryland was able to address one position of need when former NC State quarterback MJ Morris announced his transfer destination on Wednesday. The redshirt sophomore will enroll at Maryland for the spring semester ahead of an open quarterback competition, something that Morris said head coach Mike Locksley reiterated during his visit. “Coach Locksley didn't promise me anything. He said I'm gonna have to come in and compete and earn it. That's with anywhere,” Morris said on GCR. “That's what LSU said, the same thing. You have to come in and compete. And that's just my mindset wherever I go. Wherever I go, I'm just a competitor at heart. I've been that way since my dad put me in football at four years old, having me play against six- and seven-year-olds. Like I’ve always been a competitor, so wherever I go, no matter if I'm the guy or not, I'm always competing with myself or anybody else in the room.” Maryland showed immediate interest after Morris entered the transfer portal on Dec. 4, the first day possible for him to enter. Merci Falaise, who left NC State during the 2023 season to become Maryland’s new general manager, had a strong relationship with Morris and his family to give the Terps a trusted connection to fuel their portal pursuit. “I actually didn't talk to him again until the portal opened up and then he was one of the first people to call me,” Morris added. Morris quietly made his decision to transfer to Maryland on day two of his visit after spending ample time with Locksley and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. “At this point, I would say the main thing that attracts me is really the people, the coaches. When I was up there on the visit, I felt so comfortable around Coach Locksley, Coach Gattis, all the coaches who were with me on that visit. They really made me feel at home, like I was a part of the team already. And that was my first time seeing them in person. We had some great conversations about football and just life in general. So that was really the main thing that attracted me to them.” Baylor also showed interest in Morris out of the portal, but the Georgia native said that LSU was the other primary suitor under consideration before deciding on Maryland. “I just wanted to find a place where I can become the best quarterback I can be dreams of playing in the NFL one day, which is the ultimate goal. So, wherever that is, I felt Maryland was the best place to do it. So that's where that's where my heart led me to be.” Arriving as a midyear enrollee elevates his chances of taking over as the starter with all three quarterbacks heading into spring ball vying for the job. Whether it’s Edge, Edwards or Morris, Maryland will be tasked with replacing a starter coming off three consecutive 3,000-yard seasons. The next question for Morris heading into spring ball is familiarizing himself with the offense, but he’s confident in his new group of coaches as the track record of Gattis and Locksley caught his attention during his official visit. “I knew Coach Lockley's history at Alabama and how he had, like you said, Hurts, Tua , Waddle, all them people, and then they made it very, very far. So learned about him, learned about his offense, about what he does with quarterbacks, the development part. And then Coach Gattis, too, his track record with quarterbacks, it's just very impressive. And as a quarterback, it's a perfect place to go to really learn how to play the position, to learn how to play in the NFL, learn different types of offenses. So I'm interested to go up there and just put my head down at work and just learn from Coach Locksley and Coach Gattis every day.” Morris explains how he fits into Maryland’s current locker room. “I feel like I can just come in and really voice my leadership, voice my competitiveness. Around the locker room, because whenever I play a football game, I look at it no matter who it is, whether when I was at NC State, whether it was Clemson or another smaller school we play, I always went to the game the same way. That that's just another man who puts on the same pants on as you,” he added. “So when I go into that game, I'm just playing my game the best that I can do. So I feel like if I just voice that around the locker room and get everybody to be on the same page, it doesn't matter who we're playing, we're going out and play. Our football the best we can and that's just going to take it over from there.” While Taulia Tagovailoa did most of his damage in the pocket, he was able to showcase his mobility at times whether on designed runs or evading pressure. Morris admitted he loves “staying in the pocket” while touching on his mobility. “If I can stay in the pocket, I know how to work the pocket, know the spaces in the pocket that I need to get to give myself time. But I'm also very mobile if I have to get outside of pocket. If I have to make a play on my legs, I'm very capable of doing that as well. I did it a lot my freshman year. My, last year they didn't let me run too much. We did a little dual quarterback thing where Brennan Armstrong ran most of the running plays, but I am very capable of using my legs to hurt defenses.” With his destination now set, now comes what number the former NC State starter will wear considering Antwain Littleton wears the same number that Morris did as a Wolfpack in 2023. Morris will instead take over #6 with Jeshaun Jones wrapping up his Maryland career in the bowl game. “That was the next number I talked to Coach Lock about. I said if seven is not available, then I would love to go to six 'cause that's the number I wore my freshman, sophomore, and junior year of high school, so I'm very familiar with that number. I did some great things in that number, so I wouldn't mind going back to number six at all.” Related Links AMA-Dec 15 (+)The list: portal targets headline Maryland football’s visitor list prior to NSD (+) Safety Avantae Williams leaves Maryland, reenters the transfer portalGetting to know Maryland football’s bowl opponent: Auburn TigersWhat I’m hearing: update on portal, flip targets (+)Update on five-star target (+)
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