Cal’s Derek Morris enjoys after tough college debut

After the worst moment of his young football career, Derek Morris is alive and well.

In fact, the Cal freshman kicked five field goals in last Saturday’s 44-7 victory over Oregon State, setting a program record and earning Atlantic Coast Conference Specialist of the Week honors.

“It was a great feeling,” Morris said this week, “definitely great to bounce back from last week.”

Morris made his college debut the week before against North Carolina State, taking over from senior transfer Ryan Coe. Things went well for a while, with Morris converting field goals from 41, 26 and 24 yards to help the Bears take a 23-10 lead.

But with 1:34 remaining and the Bears trailing 24-23, Morris lined up on the left sideline for a 28-yard field goal that would have given Cal the lead. He advanced the ball to the right and the Wolfpack held on for the win.

Reflecting on that moment a week and a half later, Morris said, “My nerves were a little higher than I would have liked.”

In his quest to strike, Morris believes he was “too cautious” rather than remaining relaxed and natural in his process. “Almost a robot,” he explains in the video at the beginning of this article.

“The lesson I learned and continued this week is to just go out and use everything I have and trust that I will be good enough to keep it consistent,” he said. “I don’t want to ever miss an opportunity to not give my best.”

It helped that his parents and sister were present at the game, who then provided friendly assistance. He slept reasonably well that night, but mostly avoided the phone. “I know social media is not my friend after things like this happen,” he said. “It wasn’t a happy evening.”

Morris said his teammates and coaches have been “very supportive,” especially former Cal and NFL player Ryan Longwell, who was brought on to the coaching staff this season as a senior analyst.

Longwell played 16 seasons in the NFL with the Packers, Vikings and Seahawks, making 361 field goals.

“The funny thing is, his first game-winning (attempt) in the NFL was 28, left hash, and he missed,” Morris said. “It was a crazy coincidence that we had the same shot.”

Longwell told Morris he could either let the missed putt ruin him or “let that moment inspire you to keep going and use it as an accent to keep getting better.”

Longwell chose the second path after his early disappointment. He told Morris he made his next 12 field goal attempts in his rookie season in 1997.

“It was really good to hear that and now that I’m back to normal it’s a confidence booster,” Morris said.

Longwell’s anecdote was mostly accurate. In fact, he made seven straight field goals, then had a 47-yard attempt blocked before making the next five. So 12 in a row it had a chance.

While recruiting Cal from Franklin, Ohio, Morris discovered another connection to Longwell during a telephone conversation. Both use a somewhat unusual two-step approach to kicking, rather than the three-step approach of most kickers.

“Having a mentor like him who has been in the league this long and does what I do, I want to strive to do what he does,” Morris said.

After the N.C. State game, Morris said the Bears held practices throughout the week during which teammates yelled at him while trying to kick in an attempt to simulate a pressure situation.

He said the drill was helpful and also credits his 5-for-5 shooting performance against OSU to long snapper David Bird and ball carrier Lachlan Wilson, who is also a Bears kicker.

“This whole operation makes me feel comfortable and I can trust that they will all do their job and I can do mine,” he says in the video above.

“I feel really good after this (OSU) game. It just boosts my confidence and allows me to continue this season with a good attitude.”

Morris said he has never made five field goals in a game. He punted 46 yards against the Beavers, falling short of his school best of 52 yards. And while he said he once converted a 70-yard kick in kicking camp, Morris will handle all 48-yard field goal attempts while Coe will be called upon for longer kicks.

Morris is now 8-for-9 on the season and expects to make over 90 percent of his shots and sees no reason why he can’t make them all before the end of the season.

The Bears have a bye this week and play at Wake Forest a week after Friday. When asked if he wanted another chance to hit the game-winning shot, Morris said he knew the opportunity would come.

“It’s always in the back of my mind because I always want to bounce back and prove that I can do it,” he said. “At the same time, I would like to see the team blow Wake Forest out of the water. This is hope.”