For the 2015 football season, the Wildcats welcomed back former quarterback Jake Morse, who now teaches his former position as a member of the coaching staff.

Morse spent the 2014 football season as a graduate assistant with Texas Tech, and his experience there seems to have paid off for the Wildcats’ passing offense during the 2015 season. One of Morse’s fellow coaches, former teammate Jordan Robertson, sees the impact Morse has made on the entire offense.

“Jake has brought a whole new level of offense to the team,” Robertson said.

In addition to his overall impact on the offense and the passing game, Morse has fully transitioned from player to coach. He has worked to develop a relationship with the starting quarterback for the 2015 team, junior Nick Marra.

Both Morse and Marra have faced adversity while in the starting quarterback position that includes injuries that very well could have ended their careers.

In 2012 Morse injured his knee in the first game of his junior season. Marra experienced a similar injury during game one of his junior season. Morse and Marra saw the course of their seasons change abruptly. However, the two remained resilient and eventually returned to perform at an elite level.

The Baker offense wreaked havoc on the defensive secondaries of the opposing Heart of America Athletic Conference teams this season. During the 2014 season, the Baker University football team’s passing offense per game was ranked No. 43 in the nation. The 2015 passing statistics for the Wildcats’ offense tells a different story. During the regular season, the passing offense per game moved from No. 43 to No. 10 in the nation.

“Out of all the quarterbacks, I am the only one that was a teammate of Jake’s while he was a player,” Marra said. “We have a mutual respect for one another. He doesn’t try to change what makes me the player I am. He respects that we have different abilities.”

Sophomore Logan Brettell is another beneficiary of Morse's coaching this season. In Baker's first playoff game against Point, Brettell started in place of Marra, who was injured, and threw for 419 yards and six touchdowns in three quarters. He was out for the entire fourth quarter in the team's 68-21 victory.<br/>

As a player Morse had multiple individual honors. He holds two school passing records: most touchdown passes thrown in a single game (6, which Marra and Brettell have both tied this season under Morse’s coaching) in 2013 and the most touchdowns thrown in a career (60) from 2010 to 2013. Morse was also named the 2011 Heart Co-Offensive Player of the Year. In addition to his individual accomplishments, as a member of the Wildcats football team he was a part of playoff teams in 2012 and 2013. The 2013 Wildcats were also the Heart co-champions.

Now Morse can add successful seasons to his coaching resume. The Wildcats ended the 2015 regular season with a record of 10-1, ranked No. 2 in the nation. They were also the outright Heart of America Athletic Conference South Division champions.

Morse is not the only Baker football alum from recent graduating classes. He is accompanied by Robertson coaching the offensive line, Jake Green coaching wide receivers, and Trevor Bozak coaching defensive backs. They were all teammates of Morse during his career as Baker’s quarterback.

“Jake Morse is the most competitive player I have ever met,” Robertson said. “We connected instantly. He is a natural-born leader who pushed our team to be better. I looked up to him as a man, a friend and as a teammate who will always give everything, no matter what.”

The consensus from Marra and Robertson is that Morse has a bright future as a coach.