SAN ANTONIO -- University of the Incarnate Word football head coach Eric Morris and student-athletes Jamarkese Williams and Terence Hickman II attended the 2018 Southland Conference Football Media Day on Wednesday and Thursday.
 
Wednesday featured a social event with other SLC head coaches, student-athletes, and staff. Thursday, the Cardinals spent time talking with the media.
 
The Cardinals kick off the 2018 season on Sept. 1 at New Mexico. UIW takes the field at Benson Stadium on Sept. 15 with a 6 p.m. (CT) kickoff against Stephen F. Austin.
 
To purchase tailgating locations or football season tickets, contact the UIW Athletics Ticket Office at 210-805-3000.
 
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook at UIW Athletics.
 
Coach Eric Morris, Southland Conference Media Day, Thursday, July 19, 2018, Houston, Texas
 
On the Conference…
Fortunately, I know a bit about the conference. During the last few years at (Texas) Tech we had the opportunity to play Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, so I know what we're getting into.
 
When you combine that with McNeese, Nicholls, Central Arkansas -- there are some great coaches and great programs. I know we have our work cut out for us.
 
On his staff…
In my early adult life, you know I'm not a baseball guy, but I've hit three home runs:  My first home run was marrying my wife, Maggie; she's way out of my league. My second home run was having my child, Jack, who is two and a half years old. And my third home run would be hiring the staff that I hired at UIW this year.  I couldn't be more blessed than to be around a great group of guys.
 
All of you coaches know it takes an army; it takes a great group of guys to set a culture in. To be able to put your thumb print on these student-athletes each and every day. And so, it takes a village. I was lucky enough to put together a group of 15 guys that are helping us each day to build a culture -- and that's not easy.
 
On Changing the Culture…
First and foremost, you've got to create relationships with these players. We had the challenge of coming in to about 70 student-athletes; we didn't recruit these guys. We didn't know them from Adam, but we did a good job of establishing relationships. That allowed us to trust them and them to trust us. That's one thing our coaches have done fantastic job of so far.
 
On his expectations…
A bunch of people have asked me over the last six months: "What are your expectations? How are you going to get there?" To be honest with you, I haven't even thought of that. We're focusing on the little things that are happening with our student-athletes. We're teaching our kids how to manage their time. We're trying to teach these athletes how to be good students in the classroom. Something I'm very proud of in the last few months: Our team GPA was a 2.2 when I got here. We raised that to a 3.0 in our first semester this spring as a coaching staff. That's something I'm very proud of. We are also teaching these kids responsibility right now. If you're not accountable to your team and you're not responsible, there are always repercussions.  And these kids will probably tell you we've had a few 5:30 or 6 a.m. runs because of guys not handing their business, or [performing] in the classroom or on the field.
 
On unity…
It's an interesting dynamic for us as coaches to bring 105 players together. They're all different, from different economic backgrounds … different races, and you put them all in a locker room together and we have to find a way to get these kids to love each other … and to understand what their purpose is in life and on this team.  If we can get them all moving in the same direction and fighting -- that's been a [dynamic] in some of the greatest teams I've ever been a part of. Some of the greatest teams I've ever been a part of weren't always the most talented. The goal now is to build that chemistry in the locker room and have these guys focus on the little things each and every day. When you get doing all of these well, that's when you develop into a great team.
 
We have to find the importance of a cause beyond ourselves. These student-athletes can't be selfish; there's no me-me-me attitude. They have to think about the team all the time. What's their purpose in life and what's their purpose on this team? We're working hard on that right now. The kids have done a phenomenal job of buying into what we're selling.
 
On playing time, competition and depth…
We'll have a quarterback battle this year on offense. Nothing is set in stone. We have Sean Brophy back. He played a little bit last year. And there are about three other guys who are in the mix. Offensive line: We have four out of the five back. We'll try a balanced attack. We'll run the ball and throw the ball about 50 percent each. Defensively, we're looking for depth right now. I really like where our [defensive backs] are right now, our first four, but we need to find some depth on the defensive side of the ball. Same on defensive line. We have about three or four guys that we're confident in. Some of these guys who we brought in over the last three or four months need to come in and play a vital role as backups. Linebacker is probably one of the strongest positions on our team. We've got Silas Stewart, Mar'kel Cooks, and West Lambert. So we're really looking for some good things from our linebackers.
 
Really grateful to be here. Excited to lead this program.
 
On what prepared him to become a head coach…
To be honest with you, I thought I was more prepared than I was. From the things that have come across my desk in the last six months, I don't think you really understand it until you get in that seat. I have bounced a lot of ideas off of a ton of coaches. I was blessed enough when I was a player at Texas Tech: Lincoln Riley was a GA; Seth Littrell was our running backs coach after Art Briles had just left. Ruffin McNeill was our special teams coordinator. Dana Holgorsen was my inside receivers' coach. Sonny Dykes was the outside receivers' coach. Mike Leach is still a good friend of mine.
 
Needless to say, I've used my phone a lot. I've reached out to those guys for answers about certain stuff. I've taken a lot of notes. I've tried to incorporate so much of it into our program.
 
On team's strengths and what he wants to improve on…
I think our mental toughness has increased dramatically since the day we set foot on campus. I don't think some kids knew how much they could push their limits on the field. Our strength coach (Bret Huth) has done a phenomenal job of taking them to their breaking point. There's always that little guy on your shoulder when you're working out in 120-degree heat in San Antonio telling you, "Stop!" I think these guys have pulled together in tough situations. I think that will help us down the road when we get in tight ball games that we might have lost last year.
 
On his message to his offense going into the season…
Respect everyone. Fear no one. We're going to go into that first game in Albuquerque against New Mexico and we're going to respect them because they're a great team and have a great coaching staff. But we won't fear them, I promise you. We'll take the field each and every time with the belief that we can win the ball game.
 
One thing you're going to see in this offense is that we're going to try a little more balance in the attack. I think we're going to run the ball a little more than we have during the past five years at [Texas] Tech.  We going to establish a running game that will lead to play action down the road.
 
On his age having a positive impact on his players…
Energy. We always have energy on the practice field. I'm not afraid to get out there and run around with them and create some energy myself. I get with some of the older guys on the staff, and I ask a lot of questions.  They're really smart people. That's the reason I hired them. I bounce ideas off of them. We come together as a group and find the best way. It's not always my way. We sometimes find a different way than what I'm used to.
 
On the Air Raid offense…
It's built on taking what the defense will give you. We give the quarterback a little more freedom than most programs around the country. It's important that our quarterbacks are in the film room studying and knowing the defense like the coaches do. We're going to allow the defense to line up, see how they line up, and take what they're giving. If I call a play that's not very good and the quarterback doesn't like it, he has 100% authority to check out of it at any given time.
 
On how fertile recruiting in San Antonio/central Texas impacted his decision to take the job…
I've been recruiting central Texas for five years. I always thought it was a little bit under-recruited there. At Tech, I had four starters on my offense who were from Cibolo, right in the San Antonio area. There weren't people going to the central Texas area like they were going to Houston or Dallas.  We're trying to do a really good job there. I think we signed four kids this year from central Texas, and we're going to try to get seven or eight kids each year from there.
 
On the facilities at UIW…
Our president and athletic director have done a phenomenal job of going out and raising money for us. They're making changes and making them rapidly. We're fired up. The kids really enjoy the new turf and the red camo end zones. The old turf when I got there was really hard and it had some tears in it. It was a safety issue. The kids really love it.
 
On Williams and Hickman representing UIW at Media Day…
They both represent where we want this program to go. They have been leaders for us throughout this entire coaching change. We tell our young guys, "This is how we're going to build a program." These two do all the little things right all the time. Both of these guys exemplify what we want all of our students to look like in the future. I can promise you that when both of these guys are done playing football, they're going to be very successful out in society.
 
On how his playing career helped him in his coaching career…
I was an overachiever, I'll tell you that. Five-foot-eight and a receiver in the Big 12. I wasn't the fastest. I wasn't the biggest. But one thing I prided myself on was that I thought I was the toughest player out there.
 
I bring that mindset each and every day. There are probably some players I played in front of who were better athletes than me but didn't have the physical and mental toughness that I had. Every day I tried to put a good product on the field.
 
On his first message to the players…
Just like every coach says, and it's a cliché, all the other teams are doing everything we're doing in the off season. Some way, somehow, we've got to find an edge that sets us apart. If you love the guy next to you, then you're more apt to go out there and fight a little harder. So, we're just trying to build a culture where these kids have a purpose, not just for themselves, but for everyone.
 
When we come together on Saturday, we're going to war together. They're going to have to drag us off the field at the end because we're going to fight together until the end.
 
Terence Hickman II, Jr., OL
On the strength and conditioning for the Air Raid offense…
Especially as an offensive lineman, you want to gain every advantage you can, so we are going fast and moving fast, which makes the defense get tired quicker. They aren't substituting and that's an offensive lineman's dream.
 
On coach Bret Huth…
Since the coaching change, we've spent the most time with coach Huth out of any of the coaches. He's been getting us right for conditioning and strength. We have a saying: Body By Huth, because he's getting us right every day we see him. It's always a different task we have to accomplish that day, and it's getting us better.
 
On what he would say to promote UIW…
Come out to some of the games, because I feel like we are going to surprise people this year. We are going to make a lot of noise. We have a fast-paced offense and a lock-up, clamp-up defense. That's all I can say. Just sit back and watch.
 
On the progress he's seen at UIW…
Before high school when I was getting recruited… I live in San Antonio and I had never heard of (UIW), to be honest with you, other than the academics of course. As I started getting closer to high school, I heard of UIW as a DI program on the rise, and I wanted to be part of it. With coach Morris coming in, we can really make that full circle and become a top-tier DI program.
 
Jamarkese Williams, Sr., DB
On being in one-on-one situations…
When you are playing corner, the biggest thing you can have is confidence. It's not size or speed, the best thing you can have is confidence. Going out there and being on that island… I really love it and I embrace it, so I'm always looking forward to it.
 
On head coach Eric Morris…
He's a great man. I love how he came in with an aggressiveness. He's always talking about building us up as men. He's always preaching about God. That's a big deal to have in your life.
 
On DC Justin Deason's first message…
When he first got here, the first thing he talked about was the Lord. Keeping God as part of your life and loving each other, trusting each other. Basically having a brotherhood with each other. He's always challenging us about loving and trusting each other, and that's something we've been building on the defensive side.