Chiefs' Kush, Morse are more like brothers (in arms) than competitors
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- On the moments when Mitch Morse finds himself tied up in knots, Eric Kush is one of the first guys over to show him the ropes. They're more like brothers than competitors, albeit brothers who can get kind of ...
Even the off day there is enthusiasm with a "Patriotic Fat Arm Friday". With @Shermanator_42 @EricKush64 @mmorse65 pic.twitter.com/Ht59s0Isxg
— Rick Burkholder (@proatc) May 29, 2015
... um, wacky. Yeah.
"I think Eric's been my biggest help," Morse, the Kansas City Chiefs' rookie offensive lineman, said of Kush, the third-year center and occasional modeling partner. "He's been invaluable. He's invited me over to hang out (over the weekend)."
Hide the women, the children and the tank tops. But mostly the tank tops.
"I think it's really kind of exciting, because each day, you really don't know what's going to happen," Morse said. "For now, it seems like they're just trying to mix you in wherever, try to put you in situations where you can go and see how you compete."
Tuesday, guard. Wednesday, a little center. Thursday, more guard. The Chiefs start their final -- and longest -- stretch of organized team activities Tuesday, a non-contact preamble to the full-squad minicamp June 16-18. And a fortnight or so into spring practices, one of the most anticipated "battles" of the preseason -- Morse, the kid, versus Kush, the former backup, for the starting center spot -- has yet to pick up a whole hell of a lot of steam.
"Year 3 feels great," said Kush, who spent his first two NFL seasons backing up the now-departed Rodney Hudson. "It felt great before, but Year 3, it's the third time doing this thing -- everything just seems smooth as butter to you."
And to Andy Reid and his staff, apparently. Kush, a sixth-round pick out of California (Pa.) in 2013, is getting the bulk of the first-team reps at center, while Morse, a second-round pick in early May out of Missouri, has logged most of his minutes at guard, shuttling from the second unit to the first, then back again.
"I've had Kush here the last couple years," quarterback Alex Smith said. "To be honest, it's been very, very seamless. Rodney is a heck of a player and is missed, and he moved on. To be honest, it's been very, very seamless -- I haven't really missed a beat. Kush has stepped in, he knows the offense, he knows what we're doing, (and is a) really good communicator up here. He and I have a really good rapport together."
Time and training camp will tell -- blocking and tackling are hard to gauge when the Andy Gang is in shorts -- but the Chiefs seem to be serious about this whole "finding the best five" on the offensive line mantra. Which means, if you're Morse, who played every position on the line during his time at Mizzou, it's to your advantage to be ready to step up at any slot, at any time, for any reason.
"(A) coach said one time, 'College, you play football; in the NFL, you learn the game of football,'" Morse cracked. "I wish I knew half the things I've learned in three days that I did the whole career in college football. So it's definitely a learning experience and it's exciting to be able to soak up so much from these vets and these coaches.
"Who knows how it's going to come out? I don't know if I'm going to get game time. I don't know where I'm going to be. Right now, like I said, I'm fortunate enough to have guys and vets who are more focused on helping this team win, and kind of (guide) me along, because I need some help. I'm not going to lie to you. I'm starting all over again, and it's been a learning curve. But I have guys like Eric who are veterans here and who are good football players helping me out."
Lookin' good! Flip through our photo album of Chiefs cheerleaders.
Of course, study partners help, too. Morse says a chunk of his downtime over the last month has been spent with fellow rookie lineman Garrett Frye, a free-agent center out of Georgia Southern, poring over the finer points of a playbook full of them.
"And we'll just say, 'Hey, tell me what kind of play this is, where the power of the play is, where the 'backer is, and what's trying to get done at each position,'" Morse said. "And we'll quiz each other and we're not afraid to tell each other, 'No, that's (wrong), remember this is what (they) said.' It's kind of nice that you're sitting there with (someone else); you don't soak up half the stuff if you work by yourself, so it's nice to have guys kind of quiz you -- maybe he picked up something you didn't. Maybe had something in his notes that you don't. And the great thing is that the veteran starters here are awesome. They're first in line to tell you what you did wrong, they're first in line to tell you how to correct it, and they (say), 'This is what I did, I had the same problem.'"
Sink together. Swim together. Lift together. Grill together. Pose together.
"We're definitely going to continue that," Kush said. "Hanging out (on) weekends and bonding as a unit."
Oh, doctor.
You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter at @SeanKeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com.
