Demerick Morris, who left Temple for Oklahoma State after 2024 season, is back with the Owls
The defensive tackle, who was a single-digit with the Owls last season, was at Tuesday's opening spring practice under first-year coach K.C. Keeler.
Temple held its first spring football practice Tuesday under first-year coach K.C. Keeler, and a familiar face was back in the locker room.
Demerick Morris, one of the Owls’ single-digit players last season as a team leader, is back with the school after announcing his intention to transfer to Oklahoma State on Dec. 23, three weeks after Keeler was hired by Temple. On Feb. 25, Morris, a graduate defensive lineman, announced that he would reenter the transfer portal a little under two months after arriving in Stillwater, Okla.
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The Chicago native played in 11 games last season and collected 13 tackles, a half-sack, and a fumble recovery. Morris was seen at practice Tuesday, and Keeler confirmed he was back with the program.
The decision to return was up to the players in his position group, Keeler said in his post-practice press conference with the local media.
“Sometimes the grass isn’t greener, and it’s a cautionary tale,” Keeler said. “Demerick was a single-digit, was a great player here, and really well-respected and just went somewhere, [and it] wasn’t the right fit. I put it on the leadership of the defensive line. I said, ‘If we don’t want to take him back, we won’t take him back.’ And they hesitated for a minute.
“And I said, ‘Let me put it to you this way: We’re going to take someone on the defensive line, we’re not going to know them as well as we know Demerick.’ … I think [the D-linemen] were upset he left because they felt like they … had made a pact that they were going to get this thing turned around. After talking it through with them, I still let them do their decision, and they said, ‘Yeah, we need to bring him back.’”
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Along with the defensive tackle’s return, tight end Landon Morris, who’s not related to Demerick, also is back with the program after entering the transfer portal in December. Keeler said Morris was still at Temple but planning on taking a semester off from football before ultimately rejoining the program.
Staff writers Sam O’Neal and Johnny Zawislak contributed to this article.