Joining the Seattle Seahawks as a fifth-round pick, Mike Morris discusses his transition to defensive tackle full time, learning from Jarran Reed and Dre'Mont Jones, and why proving skeptics wrong lies at the center of his goals in his first NFL season.
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00:00 >> Early impressions, your first training camp here in Seattle,
00:02 getting to play in front of the 12s, the open camp practices, how's it been for you?
00:06 >> Man, it's been nice, it's been nice.
00:07 It's been very exciting just to have fans there, little kids screaming,
00:11 Morris, Morris, it's a good experience, I really like it.
00:15 >> Yeah, the little kids here, it's always exciting seeing them on the curb and
00:19 getting signed autographs and all that fun stuff.
00:21 Pete Carroll shooting off T-shirt cannons, all kinds of crazy stuff.
00:25 >> How different is practice compared to what you experienced at Michigan,
00:30 Jim Harbaugh, so you had your OTAs and things are fairly similar this time of year.
00:34 But now you've got the pad.
00:35 >> I would say it's a lot easier, it's a lot easier.
00:38 In terms of physicality, it's probably we move a little faster here, but
00:43 I would say practice camp at Michigan is ten times harder.
00:48 Cuz just the amount of physical pounding and
00:50 pounding that we do is different, is different.
00:54 We have ten team periods, so it's nine on seven, the whole nine, it's a lot.
01:00 It's a lot.
01:01 >> What's been the biggest adjustment going from college to the NFL?
01:05 >> I would probably say a lot of technique, technique, pad level.
01:08 And I would probably just say they let you be an athlete a lot more here.
01:14 If you're gonna make the play, make the play.
01:16 But I mean, I love it here.
01:18 So I feel like I can be a full athlete and I'm liking it.
01:23 >> I'm from Indiana, northern Indiana, it's a big ten country.
01:27 It's a religion there, watching big ten games.
01:29 So I've watched a ton of Michigan film.
01:31 A couple years ago, you get to play a little bit more inside for your snaps.
01:36 How would you compare the role the Seahawks have you playing so
01:38 far here to what you did in the moments you played inside for Michigan?
01:43 >> I probably did about the same.
01:44 About the same, I'd probably say I really wasn't in inside on first,
01:48 second down, only in certain packages.
01:49 But- >> I'll talk to Molly today.
01:52 >> But yeah, it's very, very, very similar, very, very similar.
01:55 So I have to go back, get my mindset right, and go on to the field and
02:00 kick some butt.
02:01 >> It's all about sub packages.
02:02 So here you're gonna be doing it full time, a little bit of a change up.
02:05 You being six foot six, obviously the simple answer to this is I just gotta get
02:10 low, but the leverage battle, what else goes into that in terms of coming out of
02:15 your stance, the way they use your hands and stuff?
02:17 Because that does create a building disadvantage unless your technique is
02:20 good. >> Yeah, it's honestly not as hard as you
02:24 think.
02:24 If we just call the ball, strike the man in front of you, double teams will get
02:27 destroyed, blocks will get destroyed.
02:29 So it's really mostly about getting off the ball and
02:32 not getting in their chest before they get in yours.
02:34 If they get in yours, it's a wrap.
02:36 >> So it's mostly about timing more than anything, that offsets the fact that-
02:42 >> Yes, yeah.
02:43 >> I thought.
02:44 You're close to 300 pounds now.
02:46 >> No, I'm 300.
02:47 >> You're right at 300.
02:49 So obviously you've had your weight fluctuate a little bit, but
02:52 is this where they want you to be at?
02:54 Or is their goal maybe down the line maybe a little bit bigger than this?
02:58 >> I mean, my coach said, Mike, if you get 300, you get 300.
03:01 If you don't, you don't.
03:02 I'm not really concerned about it.
03:03 Cuz I feel like one of the big concerns was like, am I gonna get big?
03:06 Cuz in the combine, I was like 270.
03:08 So that was one of the concerns, but I told him, I was like,
03:12 you talk about nutritionist, you talk to Coach Herb and Abigail back at Michigan,
03:16 who are in charge of my weight and me getting stronger and better, eating right.
03:20 They'll tell you I can gain and lose weight easy, very easily.
03:24 So I feel like I'm fine.
03:26 I'm in a good place.
03:27 >> You shared this with us that this is something you've done before,
03:30 influencing the weight.
03:30 But when you're asked to gain that muscle back on,
03:34 what's the go-to food for you that you enjoy to indulge in to get to that point?
03:40 >> I mean, you just gotta eat a lot of protein.
03:42 I was about to say something crazy, but you gotta eat a lot of protein.
03:44 A lot of greens, a lot of veggies, carbs.
03:49 You just gotta just, main thing is a lot of protein, a lot of intake.
03:53 >> Anything jump out since you've been here as far?
03:55 I don't know if you've gotten to go out and
03:57 experience any of the food here locally in the Southwest.
04:01 Is there anything that's jumped out?
04:03 >> No, not really.
04:04 I've been going to local places.
04:05 I've gone to Earl's.
04:06 I've gone to some places in Seattle, but nothing really crazy,
04:11 nothing crazy at all.
04:12 >> What's it been like getting to learn from Jerry and Draymond Jones,
04:15 the two most experienced veterans now coming back,
04:19 Jerry coming back, Draymond Jones' first time here.
04:21 So what's that experience been like for you so far?
04:24 >> It's really cool.
04:25 It's very helpful, very encouraging, very helpful, very supportive.
04:28 Making sure that I not only know my assignment, but I'm also coming off
04:33 the ball cuz that was something that was really difficult for me cuz I,
04:36 back at Michigan, I was in a four-I, so I was at a balance step.
04:40 And I'm playing what we call react attack, so I'm reacting off the tackle.
04:44 Where here is I need to get off the ball, so we're playing more attack react.
04:49 So that was a difficult transition for me, but once I got down to it, it was fun.
04:54 But yeah, they've been nothing but supportive and leading the charge, and
04:59 I'm very thankful that my rookie year has been filled with them.
05:01 >> Miles Adams, tell me about this.
05:03 You guys, it seems like you are doing more power stepping than gear stepping, so
05:07 that matches with what you just said.
05:09 >> Yes.
05:10 >> You guys also get the benefit of a pass rushing coach.
05:12 >> Yeah. >> That's something he's also not had
05:14 throughout the Pete Carroll tenure, and then they wanna get B.T.
05:16 Jordan.
05:17 What has that experience been like getting to work with him?
05:19 Because he has a track record in coaching not just edge guys.
05:23 He's coached some of the best interior wrestlers too.
05:25 What's that experience been like?
05:27 >> I mean, it's cool.
05:27 He's at Michigan State, so.
05:29 Yeah, I, nah, I like B.T.
05:31 >> I was gonna ask him.
05:31 >> I like B.T. a lot.
05:32 I like B.T. a lot.
05:33 That's my, that's big bro.
05:34 That's big bro.
05:35 He's definitely been helping me with my pass rush from inside,
05:38 because from the inside standpoint, everything happens a lot faster.
05:41 A lot faster.
05:43 So from just the hands, just being a technician in there,
05:47 has really been helping me a lot.
05:48 I have a long way to go, but progress, it's always progress.
05:52 >> As camp progresses and you get to the preseason games,
05:55 what are your ultimate goals here for the next month?
05:57 Don't you need to- >> I feel like a lot of,
06:01 just going from college to now, I thought his scouting reports are gonna be,
06:05 probably run to his side when I'm at 3 Tech, because he probably can't handle
06:08 the double teams, but I wanna make it apparent that just like in college,
06:12 running to my side is gonna be problems.
06:13 That's what I wanna, that's what I really wanna do.
06:15 That's what I really wanna set the tone about.