The Cowboys made a huge splash in the College football world when they were able to secure Eric Morris as their 25th Head Coach. Everything about Morris fit, and that goes well beyond the fact that he is known for high-powered offenses, something OSU fans identify as an identity of this program, if you will.
Perfect Fit
Morris grew up in Shallowater, Texas, which is just Northwest of Lubbock, and played his college football for Texas Tech. In fact, as you probably already know, he played in the “I’m a Man, I’m 40” game back in 2007.
Morris was an undersized slot receiver who always enjoyed being told that he couldn’t do something. Those words have always given him a strong drive to prove folks wrong.
“It’s always helped me when people tell me I can’t do something. For me to prove them wrong is always something that has really hit home for me.”
Doing More With Less
Make no mistake about it, Eric Morris knows how to identify talent, and he can recruit, so the “More With Less” statement need not be used to assume he’ll be operating from an underdog position at OSU. But, it is to say that he has been great at finding “underdogs” and turning them into the baddest DAWG on the block.
At Texas Tech, as offensive coordinator, he took a lightly recruited Pat Mahomes and turned him into, well, Pat Mahomes. At Incarnate Word, he developed Cam Ward, who was a ZERO star and turned him into the Southland Player of the Year in 2021 and an FCS 2nd Team All-American. Ward then followed Morris to Washington State, where he threw for 3,094 yards and 23 touchdowns, while adding 285 rushing yards the following year in 2022.
Under the guidance of Morris as Head Coach, the Cardinals won two conference titles in 2018 and 2021, and reached the FCS playoffs twice. It was one of the best turnarounds in the FCS, which is why he was named the 2018 American Football Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year.
Morris also recruited and mentored John Mateer. Mateer, who, like Ward, was a little-known recruit out of DFW. He also helped Chandler Morris, who eventually transferred to Virginia, and replaced him with yet another ZERO-star recruit, Drew Mestemaker, who leads the nation in passing yards. In fact, Mestemaker was a walk-on, so, as you can see, the “Do More With Less” is a STRONG quality for Morris.
The Staff
As with ANY successful Head Coach, they can’t do it by themselves, so they have to be surrounded by great coaches around them. Just like he surrounded Cliff Kingsbury while at Tech, he has a strong cast around him at UNT.
Skyler Cassity is the defensive coordinator, and, if that name sounds familiar, it’s because he is the brother of Braden Cassity, who was a tight end at OSU from 2018-2023.
UNT was one of the worst defensive units in College Football before Cassity’s arrival prior to 2024, when all of that changed. Cassity is known for quick turnarounds, as evidenced by his work at Sam Houston, prior to coming to UNT.
At Sam Houston, Cassity was a LARGE part of a BIG turnaround. They went from a 3-9 team in 2023 to 9-3 the next year, in 2024, and thanks, in the largest part, to their defense, which was the cornerstone.
In 2023, Sam Houston was a bottom-50 defense. But, in 2024, they were 20th nationally in total defense, 11th in pass defense, 21st in scoring defense, and were Top 10 in 3rd down stops, red zone defense, and 4th down conversion rates. All thanks to the great “turnaround” work from Cassity.
While North Texas isn’t the greatest defense in College Football, context is the ONLY thing that matters. As Oklahoma State fans know, the “Air Raid” can make it very hard to play defense, because the defense is on the field A LOT.
In 2024, the year before Cassity arrived at UNT, the Mean Green averaged giving up 34.2 points per game, while this year they are giving up 24. While the rush defense has had its holes, the pass defense has definitely shown improvements.
The average per attempt has dropped by 2 yards this year, and the average per game has dropped by right at 100 yards. The Mean Green have given up 10 fewer passing touchdowns this year and close to 1/2 the amount of overall passing yards.
Of course, they’ve only played 11 games thus far, and that’s being compared to 13 last year, so make sure and add that into your context.
Defensive Style
Multiple…That’s the term I would use to describe the layout of Cassity’s defense. We’ll see odd fronts (3 & 5 man), and even fronts (4 man). The word I would use to describe the execution piece is “CHAOS.”
Cassity has a background in both the 3-3-5 and the 4-2-5, and uses gap fitting principles, meaning each person has a gap, to add fairly exotic “gap replacement” type stunting/movements in the box.
So, regardless of how complicated the movements/blitzes/stunts may look up front, the core behind it is that gaps are just getting replaced. So, for instance, if a linebacker usually has B-Gap, but blitzes A-Gap, then, on that play, the Nose tackle would likely have to fit the B-Gap. Although they are normally a A-Gap player.
The video above is an example of those concepts in action.
As you’ll see in the video above, on the back end, Cassity loves to use read progressions and rotations. From a basic philosophical perspective, his defense will NOT cover the first 5 yards of any route progressions. He believes in letting the routes “sort themselves out” in front of the secondary players, who, if things are done properly, will NOT know what routes are run.
Yes, I just typed that…If this defense is run properly, from a base perspective, the secondary players will NOT know what routes are being run in front of them. That’s because they’ll have their eyes on the QB and have specific rotations based on how the QB opens.
For instance, the “curl/flat” safety will drop, and as the QB opens to their side, they’ll drive on the inside curl, then keep working downhill to the flat. Meanwhile, the corner, or what I call the 12-yard defender, will be the “hook/curl” player. I call them the 12-yard defender, because that’s the depth they’ll drop to while reading the QB, and moving to their hook, then curl.
If the QB opens away from a secondary defender, they’ll look to their backside and try to pick up anything crossing back to their side. So, let’s say you get a hook from the #1, a bubble from #2, and a deep slant from #3. Curl flat player covers the bubble, hook/curl player covers the hook, backside safety covers the deep slant.
That’s the basics of how the back end will rotate. One of the best parts of this type of defense is that it reduces the risk of losing a receiver in combination routes meant to create “chaos”. That’s because it’s not so much about “passing off” receivers as it is working down to your progressions. The “5-yard” “No Cover” depth will make “rub” concepts much less effective, and, since the secondary has “eyes” on QB to determine their movements, the QB scrambles get identified and driven on.
You could call this “bend but don’t break”, because if you throw 5-yard curls and complete them, this defense will let you do that. But, you’ll have to execute a 12 to 13 play drive without a penalty, or a bad pass or a dropped ball, because, if it gets you in long distances, they are going to be creative in finding ways to get to the QB, while blanketing the deeper parts of the field the offense will be wanting to access.
The Offensive Coaches
Beyond Morris himself, Jordan Davis is the Offensive Coordinator. Davis played for Morris at Texas Tech in 2014 and has led the UNT offense to incredible success. Davis is also the receivers coach and has had three separate players finish the season with over 750 receiving yards in his first two seasons in Denton.
Davis is a native of Arlington, so he is another tie to the region, the Big 12, and the Air Raid offense, all of which are exactly what OSU needs. He coached with Morris at UIW, then was an analyst at Washington State, before arriving at UNT in 2023. So, he has been in lock step with Coach Morris at several stops, which tells you all you need to know about how he is viewed.
Lots of potential for him to become the next big-time coordinator at OSU, which will set him up to become a Head Coach, a process we’ve seen play out in the past.
Sean Brophy is the passing game coordinator and works with the quarterbacks. Brophy played for Coach Morris at Incarnate Word in 2018, worked on the staff with Coach Morris at UIW in 2021, then followed him to both Washington State as a graduate assistant and then UNT as the quarterbacks coach.
Cody Crill is the offensive line coach for UNT and was the offensive coordinator for Coach Morris at Incarnate Word from 2018-2021, so they have a long history together. He reunited this past season with Coach Morris after spending 2024 as the O-Line coach at Marshall. Before his time at UIW, he spent time at Navarro College, Winston Salem State, Trinity Valley, and Angelo State.
Patrick Cobbs is the running back coach at UNT, which is his alma mater. He also played in the NFL and is a member of the North Texas Athletics Hall of Fame the All-Century Football Team, so he is very accomplished.
He’s mentored 2 1000 yard rushers, and a Mean Green offense that led the American in 2023 in average per carry at 5.11. They finished #22 in the FBS in rushing with an average of 191.2 yards per game.
Before that, and before the arrival of Eric Morris, he led UNT to finishing 2nd in Conference USA, 26th in the FBS in rushing, averaging nearly 200 yards per game.
Beyond that, in 2021, Cobbs mentored one of the top running back groups in the country. The Mean Green finished the season ranked No. 5 nationally in rushing offense (234.1 ypg) as DeAndre Torrey rushed for 1,215 yards on the year, the seventh-best single-season total in UNT history. Torrey was Cobb’s first pupil to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. That’s per the UNT Official Website.
Drew Svoboda is the Special Teams Coordinator and Tight Ends coach. He’s been at UNT since 2022, and, in 2024, the combined six units ranked second in the American Conference according to Pro Football Focus (PFF) special teams’ grades. They were first in the American Athletic Conference for the composite ranking average of special teams’ units. That is, again, per the UNT Official Website.
Prior to arriving at UNT, he worked at Alabama for Nick Saban as the senior special assistant for Special Teams and Offense. Meaning, they liked him and found a role for him.
While coaching tight ends, Svoboda’s unit accounted for 11 touchdowns and helped the Crimson Tide finish seventh in the country in both total offense and passing offense while finishing sixth nationally in scoring. Junior Cam Latu had 26 receptions for 410 yards and set the Alabama record for receiving touchdowns by a tight end with eight.
As the Special Teams Coordinator, Svoboda led some of the best units in the country. The Tide’s special teams units ranked first nationally in points scored with 164, including four touchdowns. UA tied for second nationally with two touchdowns on kickoff returns.
As per meangreensports.com, as the Special Teams Coordinator, Svoboda led some of the best units in the country. The Tide’s special teams units ranked first nationally in points scored with 164, including four touchdowns. UA tied for second nationally with two touchdowns on kickoff returns.
He’s also spent time at Memphis, Rice, and Houston, so he knows his way around some areas OSU doesn’t normally recruit in.
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The Defensive Coaches
Now that we’ve talked a little about how the defense operates, let’s talk about the coaches. The Secondary coach is Skyler Cassity himself, alongside Julian Wilson. Wilson played at OU in 2014 and graduated from Southmoore in OKC, so he has a STRONG regional tie. He obviously understands OSU, the State of Oklahoma, this area in terms of recruiting, and the Big 12.
He is also VERY accomplished!
He played in 48 games at OU, had 99 tackles, 4 interceptions and 15 pass breakups. He spent time with Baltimore, Minnesota and Kansas City in the NFL, and played in the Canadian Football League as well.
Wilson started his coaching career as a grad assistant at Texas Tech in 2021, then followed Cassity every step of the way from Abilene Christian to Sam Houston to UNT. So, between his accomplishments, his Regional ties, and the fact that he’s been alongside Cassity at every step, one would have to assume that it’s assumed he’ll be coming to Stillwater.
So, I would have to think he’ll follow
If you’re into the “fit” thing, no one would fit better than Greg Richmond, who played and coached at OSU. Richmond was a triple option QB at OKC Douglass, the same school as Alonzo Mayes and Marcellus Rivers, so no one knows this area, Stillwater, and OSU better than him.
Ike Eguae is the defensive line coach, who, like Wilson, followed Cassity to UNT from Sam Houston, where he helped the Bearcats rank 2nd in Conference USA in both sacks and rushing defense.
Prior to Sam Houston, he spent 2022 at Stephen F. Austin and 8 years at Fort Hayes State. He played at Pitt State in 2007.
Eguae is a good coach and has continuity with Cassity, but I can’t make any argument that he should be chosen over Ryan Osborn, who has done a remarkable job as D-Line Coach for OSU this year.
No offense to Coach Eguae, but it should be a SLAM DUNK that Coach Osborn is retained.
Jordan Malone is the Nickel/outside linebacker coach, and Reggie Johnson is the inside linebackers coach. Malone played at Minnesota State in 2006 and came to UNT after a short stint at Wake Forest, after spending 5 years at Washington State.
I’m assuming that’s where Coach Morris and he crossed paths to the depth that led to Morris hiring him at UNT.
At Wazzou, Malone was the Defensive Pass Game Coordinator in 2024, after spending the previous 3 seasons as the safeties and nickel coach for the Cougars. He was a defensive analyst in 2020.
In 2023, Malone helped oversee a WSU defense that led the country with five defensive touchdowns, and in 2022, the Cougar defense led the Pac-12 Conference in scoring defense and redzone defense.
With the style of defense that Cassity plays, “red zone” defense and “scoring” defense will be huge metrics to evaluate, so having a secondary coach who understands how to coach to those metrics can be valuable.
Reggie Johnson, the inside linebackers coach, played at Louisville in 1996 and joined the UNT staff in 2024. He’sPLAYEF
Johnson also followed Cassity to UNT from Sam Houston, so the continuity piece is strong on their staff.
Beyond his DCoordinator stints and his time at SHU and UNT, Johnson has coached at Louisville, Missouri State, UTEP, Arkansas, Western Kentucky, and Purdue. So, he would bring a TON of experience and ties to parts of the country that OSU doesn’t normally recruit. Which could be a very good thing.
THE GM Raj Murti
Murti has deep connections in Texas football, having recruited in different parts of the State his entire career. He started at Houston, his Alma Mater, in 2019 as a recruiting intern. He got elevated in 2021 to program assistant for the Cougars, then to Assistant Director of Player Personnel in 2023.
Per meangreensports.com, by the end of his tenure with the Cougars, Murti became the primary contact and evaluator of all high school, junior college and transfer portal offensive recruits for the Cougars. Houston would sign four of the top-10 recruits in UH football history in his last three seasons with the Cougars.
In 2024, he moved to TCU, where he was the Recruiting Coordinator from March to December of 2024, then got promoted to Assistant Director of Player Personnel in January of 2025. He then became the General Manager for UNT later in 2025.
Again, per meangreensports.com, Murti served as the primary point of contact for all prospects, their families and high school coaches in his time in Fort Worth. He helped the 2025 recruiting class at TCU rank as the No. 1 recruiting class in the Big 12 by all major services (On3, 247, Rivals) and was ranked as high as the No. 24 class in the country according to 247Sports.
This dude understands player evaluation, how to communicate with players and parents, and he knows Texas, the ENTIRE state. He also has a lot of experience recruiting from the transfer portal, and he has a business degree, so he understands that part of things too. He already has experience developing plans for revenue sharing, so he is THE guy that EVERY program needs.
Murti spends a lot of time being proactive in trying to anticipate the next move in College Football, which keeps his program ahead of the changing curves. OSU 100% needs THAT!
