The Pilates Punisher — Houston Linebacker Jamal Morris Expands His Horizons, Touts the Differences In Willie Fritz’s Accountability Culture

The first time Jamal Morris walked into the Boost Pilates studio, he didn’t know what to expect. The University of Houston’s 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker is used to being in control of most physical situations. But in pilates, Morris found himself the ultimate beginner. One that many others looked at a little dubiously at first.

“I had to take solo classes first so I get used to it,” Morris tells PaperCity. “But once I graduated to the regular class that was more fast paced and they saw I could hold my own, they really were proud of me. . .

“I love my pilates community.”

Jamal Morris has a pilates community because he is willing to try anything to get better. To up his game, and help his team. After last season, Morris decided he needed to get more flexible to become a better football player. Enter pilates.

Morris is not just the only football player in his pilates classes at Boost. He is often the only guy in the classes. With Morris an important part of a defense that is emerging as the clear strength of Willie Fritz’s first University of Houston team, he is convinced pilates is another way he’s gained an edge.

“Doing pilates has really opened my eyes to a whole new world of physical health,” Morris says. “Understanding those stretches and using that (reformer) machine, I really started to feel the differences in my game. I feel the differences in my body. This is the healthiest I’ve been.”

A rebuilding Houston team desperately needs Morris at his best this season, his sixth and last college season (including a redshirt year at Oklahoma and a COVID season). Willie Fritz is trying to transform almost everything around the football program and needs as many player leaders as possible.

It didn’t take Jamal Morris long to decide he is all in on Fritz.

“He literally changed the culture in my eyes in six months,” Morris says. “Even though we still have a long way to g0, we’re taking baby steps, you can see a huge difference in the way things are. To have him around, it’s great for all the guys.

“Especially on the disciplinary level. The accountability level.”

Jamal Morris remembers a very different atmosphere last season as a much more talented UH team than this one spiraled to a 4-8 record in its first season in the Big 12 under Dana Holgorsen. A season where there often seemed to different standards for different players.

“I say accountability because there’s a lot of things that were going on before,” Morris tells PaperCity. “Some guys think maybe they’re exempt from punishments, but (Fritz) said we’re all together. We’re all one.

“We can’t act a way that’s not part of the standards.”

As important as beating Rice at home on Saturday night in the first year of a Fritz rebuild that won’t be pretty is to UH’s program, establishing those standards looms even more important. Changing the attitude of Houston football, the very foundation that is built on, remains Willie Fritz’s No. 1 must-do in 2024.

Morris already has had more one-on-one conversations with Fritz than he did with Dana Holgorsen in two full seasons of playing for Holgorsen.

“One thing he tells me is lead the way I lead,” Morris says of his new head coach. “I can’t get frustrated 0r things like that. Not if I want to be a good leader. He reminds me of that.”

“Doing pilates has really opened my eyes to a whole new world of physical health. Understanding those stretches and using that (reformer) machine, I really started to feel the differences in my game. I feel the differences in my body.” — UH linebacker Jamal Morris

Jamal Morris, Student of The Game

While small school transfer sensation Michael Batton, Tulane transfer Keith Cooper Jr. and defensive back A.J. Haulcy are making most of the big plays for defensive coordinator Shiel Wood early in the season, Jamal Morris is something of a steady bedrock. His 12 tackles rank third on the team through two games.

“He’s another guy who has very good leadership qualities,” Wille Fritz says. “He takes the game seriously. He enjoys it. He’s a real student of the game. Good size, good movement. I think he’s only going to get better. He really enjoys practicing and meeting.

“A student of the game — he really is. So he’ll get better and better.”

Jamal Morris is determined to make the most of his final season, refusing to believe Houston can’t win in this transition year. “I just feel like, have fun with it,” Morris says. “Because football is not guaranteed for me after this year.”

Jumping into pilates shows Morris’ determination to make the most of this season. This student of the game brings an open mind, one willing to embrace what others might dismiss as too untraditional. This hard-hitting linebacker credits Boost Pilates instructor Abby Purcell with getting him up to speed, allowing him to not feel lost in this unfamiliar arena.

“Pilates is definitely hard,” Morris says. “I have a new respect for women — because there’s a lot of women in the class and all that, which is cool. . . They’re a great help. They’re a great community. They all look out for each other. So going in to do pilates, I feel right at home doing it.”

Some might almost look at this University of Houston football season as something to get through, just the first Willie Fritz step on the way to much better days. But that’s overlooks guys like Jamal Morris, a UH battler who’s fighting to get better any way he can. There is still plenty for Cougar fans to root for this football season, including pulling for the Pilates Punisher. Jamal Morris will find a way to push himself, to reach for more, to embrace Fritz’s challenges.