After program legend’s exit, Eastern Kentucky has a new starting quarterback this season

cameron drummond

Thu, Aug 29, 2024, 11:22 a.m.·5 min read

Eastern Kentucky football coach Walt Wells knew what his main task was this offseason: Finding a replacement for a program legend.

Standout former EKU quarterback Parker McKinney played six seasons in Richmond and left as one of the most accomplished players in both school and FCS history.

The statistics on their own are staggering: McKinney threw for 12,751 yards at EKU, the 11th-most in FCS history, and accounted for a combined 117 touchdowns (94 passing and 23 rushing) during his time with the Colonels.

McKinney’s reign as the undisputed starter at EKU also included leading the Colonels back to the FCS playoffs in 2022 for the first time since 2014.

Safe to say, these are big shoes to fill behind center for the Colonels. Last week, Wells made the call as to who would be stepping into them.

The Colonels are going with graduate student Matt Morrissey as their starting quarterback for Saturday night’s season opener at Mississippi State.

“I think Matt showed some consistency throughout spring, summer and fall camp, and the ability to throw the football and being able to make the reads and get the ball to where it needs to go,” Wells said during a Tuesday morning media session.

EKU’s offseason quarterback competition came down to Morrissey and redshirt sophomore Cameron Hergott, the 2020 Kentucky Mr. Football winner and three-time state champion at Beechwood High School.

What separated Morrissey in this battle?

“In the end, we just felt like Matt gave us the greatest opportunity to throw the football, move the football and score touchdowns,” Wells said.

While it would be unrealistic to expect Morrissey to match McKinney’s production right away, especially in Week 1 on the road at an SEC opponent, there are encouraging signs surrounding EKU’s new top signal caller.

First is his experience.

The 6-foot-4, 229-pound Morrissey is a college football veteran, having previously played at Trinity Valley Community College (Texas), Northern Iowa and Western Illinois. His most recent stop was at Western Illinois, where last season he threw for 1,981 yards and 13 touchdowns while completing 60.8% of his passes.

Additionally, Wells championed the respect level that Morrissey already has from his EKU teammates. Morrissey was one of seven players to be voted a team captain for the Colonels this season.

“The guys here made it easy for me. When I came in, they welcomed me with open arms and made me feel comfortable around all of the guys, so I was able to bond with them instantly,” said Morrissey, who credited EKU’s quarterbacks coach Maxwell Smith (a former UK quarterback) with helping him learn the Colonels’ playbook.

“I think it speaks volumes about the type of person he is,” Wells added. “He came in, and not only did he fit in, but he also demanded some respect. He demanded some leadership in that room, but he did it the right way … did some different things that I think just developed a trust in (his teammates).”

Wells said that he doesn’t think he’s even mentioned McKinney’s name to Morrissey as EKU’s major offseason change at quarterback took shape.

“Matt’s got to come out and be consistent and make the plays,” Wells said. “He doesn’t have to be Parker McKinney. He has to be Matt Morrissey.”

“When I came on my visit, (Wells) said ‘If you’re going to come here, just worry about being you and be the best Matthew you can be,’” Morrissey recalled. “Obviously, seeing Parker’s success, that was a big reason why I was interested in coming here because I saw that success, how good of a player he was and I was obviously hoping to have that same sort of success.”

Quarterback Matt Morrissey is new to the Eastern Kentucky University football program this season. Morrissey previously played at Trinity Valley Community College, Northern Iowa and Western Illinois.

New EKU quarterback Matt Morrissey faces a challenging first game

Morrissey’s first task with Eastern Kentucky football won’t be an easy one.

The Colonels have plenty of question marks as they travel south for Saturday’s season opener at Mississippi State. In addition to dealing with the loss of McKinney, EKU also lost leading rusher Braedon Sloan (765 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, along with 40 catches for 467 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns) this offseason to FBS program Ball State.

EKU’s receiver situation is also less than ideal. The Colonels’ leading returning receiver is redshirt senior tight end Hunter Brown, who had only 387 receiving yards in 2023.

“We’ve had a kind of rolling door of receivers right now, and tight ends, for (Morrissey) to throw to because of cramping or whatever’s been going on in camp,” Wells said, underscoring the unknowns with EKU’s receiving corps.

Then, there’s the unique challenge that comes with playing at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.

More than 50,000 fans — just about all of them armed with clanging cowbells — will pack the venue for Saturday night’s contest, which also is the first game for new Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby, formerly the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss and Oklahoma.

Given all this, the Colonels have gotten creative when it comes to preparing for Saturday’s road environment.

Wells called up some of his old contacts at UK (Wells was a quality control assistant at Kentucky in 2018 and 2019) and they provided him with an audio track of cowbell music that Kentucky uses to simulate the Starkville crowd in practice before the Wildcats play at Mississippi State.

That cowbell noise has blared loudly from EKU’s practice speakers during the last two weeks.

“We (play the music during) every team or 7-on-7 session, and punt sessions, special teams sessions,” Wells said. “We also have a speaker that we put right behind the quarterback. Literally, it’s 5 yards behind the quarterback … and it just blares cowbells ringing and fan noise.”

Given the new faces at several key positions for the Colonels this season, especially on offense, making sure everybody is on the same page will be of paramount importance Saturday.

“It’s one of my points of emphasis for this week,” Wells said. “We have to handle that adversity from the noise.”