Morris Chosen as Aztec Starter : College football: Luginbill passes over Lowery for quarterback position.

After having two press conferences to say that he hadn’t decided on a starting quarterback, San Diego State Coach Al Luginbill Tuesday announced what many people have figured since last spring.

Cree Morris, a 6-foot-7 redshirt sophomore from the Dan McGwire mold, will lead the Aztecs into 1991 and, maybe, beyond.

“I think that if I had named Cree Morris the starter coming out of spring football, nobody would have said a word,” Luginbill said. “But I felt that our coaching staff and this program owed David Lowery a chance to show what he could do.

“And, I wanted to see what attitude and work ethic Cree had in the off-season. I was extremely happy with his work ethic.”

Said Morris: “It’s exciting; I’m looking forward to it. No one (outside of football can) understand how great it is to play football and line up and you’re the starting guy. It’s such a rush. It’s unexplainable.”

The decision comes less than a week before SDSU’s opener Sunday against Cal State Long Beach. Members of the Aztecs’ offensive unit were happy that a quarterback was finally picked.

“I think it was appropriate that somebody was named today so we can get settled in,” running back T.C. Wright said. “I know I probably speak for the rest of the guys that I’m glad somebody was named so we can get this thing going.”

Said receiver Patrick Rowe: “I’m happy. Now, we’ll put in the finishing touches and away we go.”

Morris, from Orange Glen High in Escondido, had the edge coming out of spring practice because Lowery suffered a broken jaw in a fraternity fight last winter and missed two weeks of contact work.

Morris also had the edge coming out of SDSU’s first intrasquad scrimmage this fall, in large part because Lowery was shaken up while attempting to make a tackle after an interception.

But Lowery refused to buckle. He outperformed Morris Wednesday in SDSU’s final scrimmage and forced Luginbill and his coaching staff to make a difficult decision.

“It came down to a situation where we thought our offense needed to have a No. 1 quarterback,” Luginbill said. “We looked for someone to totally separate himself. That didn’t happen.”

Lowery, also a redshirt sophomore, said he didn’t view the decision so much as a defeat as that he simply ran out of time.

“What am I supposed to say?” Lowery said. “They needed to pick a starter. We’ve got a game in a week. We’ll win with whoever goes.”

Both quarterbacks were relieved to have the decision out of the way.

“Now I can just go on and do what I have to do,” Morris said. “It was the most difficult mental time I’ve gone through in my life, playing a waiting game and seeing what happens. I think I learned a lot and matured.”

Said Lowery: “It was like playing a game every time you would go to the line of scrimmage to take a snap in practice.”

Luginbill said he would not hesitate to make a change if Morris is unproductive, but added that he will give Morris every chance to succeed. He also said he will not alternate the two.

“Ours is an offense that needs to be in sync,” Luginbill said. “It relies on a timed passing game and synchronization between receivers and the quarterback. Under game conditions, that changes from series to series.

“I’ve never seen it where (platooning) is successful, and I’m not out to make history.”

Morris, McGwire’s backup last season, completed 17 of 36 passes for 253 yards in 1990. He threw two touchdown passes and had one pass intercepted.

Aztec Notes

The Aztec injury report for Sunday’s 6:05 p.m. opener against Cal State Long Beach: H backs Will Tate and Keith Williams (right hamstrings), tight end Marc Ziegler (right knee sprain) and offensive lineman Joe Heinz (right knee sprain) are all out; linebacker Jamal Duff (left hamstring) and defensive end Ty Morrison (left shoulder strain) are questionable.