MJ Morris: 'I still want to be here,' but NC State said it was moving on
Posted December 4, 2023 3:17 p.m. EST
Updated December 5, 2023 7:16 a.m. EST
Former NC State quarterback MJ Morris said he wanted to remain with the Wolfpack football program, but coaches told him they were going in a different direction.
Morris, who started four games before deciding to redshirt and preserve a year of eligibility, announced last week that he would enter the transfer portal. He said he has been contacted by LSU, Baylor and Maryland so far.
Morris made his comments on 247 Sports' transfer portal show.
"I told them, like I said, I still want to be here," Morris said he told the staff in a meeting after NC State's victory against UNC. "This is the place I want to be. This is the place I committed to and said I want to be here for the next four, five years of my life."
Morris said he met with head coach Dave Doeren and quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper about a week later.
"They just told me that they wanted to take different ways, go get a different quarterback, go get a starting quarterback," Morris said.
"... I knew right there after that conversation it was just time to explore my options and take my talents elsewhere."
Morris said there was no "bad blood" between him and the program and that he is leaving "on good terms."
Morris started five games as a true freshman before injuring his knee. He said that injury required surgery. The plan, he said, was to redshirt in 2023 behind graduate transfer Brennan Armstrong.
"I was promised I was going to get my redshirt year back, which me and my family were good with," Morris said.
Morris said the plan was to play only if Armstrong was injured. The NC State offense struggled early, and Doeren turned to Morris after five games. NC State went 3-1 with Morris as the starter, but he told the staff during that stretch that he still wanted to redshirt.
"I still do want to take my redshirt year so I can get an extra year of eligibility back in order to continue my development and become the best quarterback I can possibly be to go to the NFL, which is my dream and my goal one day." Morris said.
Morris said coaches tried to talk him out of it. Doeren said at the time he was surprised that a starting quarterback would want to sit out.
Armstrong started the final three games of the season and led NC State to victories against Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and North Carolina. NC State (9-3) will face Kansas State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Dec. 28 in Orlando.
