Eupora’s Zak Morris is patiently waiting for the flood gates to open and head coach Stephen Edwards is certain it will come. He’s just waiting on that first offer.
Morris, a muscular 6-foot, 170-pound safety, returns for his senior season at Eupora without an offer in hand but plenty of interest from junior colleges. Edwards said Morris’ brother, Camron Culpepper, signed with Southwest Community College.
“I think the offer will come for him,” Edwards said. “He has to stay healthy and needs to have a good year. He is getting plenty of interest. I just feel like something will be out there for him. He needs to get a little bit faster on the top end. When we went to the East Central camp, he competed and was physical and they really liked him. They rated him high because he was so physical. East Central is continuing to stay on him because he had such a good camp there and East Mississippi called and got his number last week. So we feel like that offer is going to come. And when it does, others generally follow it.”
Morris is the latest addition to the Choctaw Plaindealer/Wester Progress Times Eleven To Watch for 2019. Already named to the list are Israel Whitmore, Tylan Carter, and Calvin Talley of Choctaw County High School; Bradley Edwards of French Camp Academy; Caleb Massey, Conner Shurden, and Parker Burleson of East Webster; and M.J. Thomas, and Deunte Watson of Eupora.
Morris had a standout season for the Eagles on the defensive side of the football last year as he was voted a Super 24 safety by the Division 2-2A coaches. He record four interceptions, including two against rival East Webster and had more than 60 tackles from his free safety position.
“He had a really good season last year,” Edwards said. “He is one of the top safeties in Class 2A coming back this year. He has been really good in seven on seven this summer. He has had a lot of interceptions this summer. He has a nose for the football. He’s a kid that you can roll down because he is so strong but he will be our starting safety because he’s so smart and can get everybody else lined up.”
If it’s up to Morris, he said he would prefer to play defense.
“I definitely like defense better,” Morris said. “I love the contact. I love to come down and hit people. And there is nothing better than getting an interception and hearing that crowd roar. You can’t beat that.”
Edwards thinks Morris might end up with a four-year offer because of his grades. Morris is an A and B student in the classroom and has made a 22 on the ACT, making him an instant qualifier. Edwards
Morris said if he doesn’t get a football offer, he will go to college and would like to major in “something related to sports, like sports medicine or physical therapy."
“He is an A and B student and an extremely smart kid,” Edwards said. “He is a really smart football player. He’s the kind of kid you want to be one of your senior leaders. He will be one of the most vocal kids on the team. He doesn’t have a bad day and if he does, you won’t know about it. We know we will be underdogs and he’s kid that kind of emulates that. He knows he has to put the work in and fight for everything that he gets this season.”
While Morris’ future may be on the defensive side of the football, Edwards plans on using his talented senior on the offensive side of the ball as well.
“My plan is to use Zak and Daniel Brown on opposite sides of the field at X receivers,” Edwards said. “They are going to double DaDa (Brown) before it’s over and we will have Zak on the other side. That gives us two good receivers on the field and puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses. And Zak is the kind of kid that I can see putting him at wildcat quarterback. I’m not opposed to putting him back there and just snapping the ball to him because he is a better skill kid. That’s something that we are going to put in and work on.”
Morris said he definitely wants to go play college football.
“It’s my dream to play college football,” Edwards said. “If I don’t go do that, I want to go do something in sports. I’m doing everything I can do to get there. I’m working out twice a day and come up here to the field and run almost every night. If I’m not lifting weights, I’m working at my family’s restaurant.”
Edwards said Jackson State assistant Sleepy Robinson really liked Morris as well.
“I really thought Sleepy was going to offer him, he really liked him,” Edwards said. “When he went to the Southern Miss camp, he was one of the top defensive backs there. At East Central, he finished in the top five in their competition.”
Edwards said Morris is one of the stronger kids on the team. He benches around 250 pounds and squats 450-plus pounds. Morris said he has been clocked at 4.57 in the 40-yard dash.
“He needs to work on his quickness and he has been doing that,” Edwards said. “I tell them that they can’t run enough 40s. He has been doing a lot of those drills to get faster and you just want to see kids like that succeed. He’s probably a 250-pound bencher and you don’t see that out of a lot of high school skill kids. He’s just a kid that is going to put the work in to get better.”
Morris realizes it’s going to take a lot of dedication to get the Eagles back to the playoffs and get the offer that he wants.
“It’s going to a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication,” Morris said. “We have to stick to the script. I’m in here day in and day out, running and lifting whenever I get the chance. A lot of times, I lift twice a day. If I’m not in here, I’m lifting at the fitness center downtown. I come to the field and run at night a lot. I’m doing whatever it takes to try and get that offer.”
