Behren Morton With A Chip On His [Now Healthy?] Shoulder
Behren Morton isn’t just a Red Raider for life, he is a Red Raider from birth – a title he holds proudly headed into his senior season. With a West Texas sized chip on his surgically repaired shoulder, the gunslinger is ready to leave his mark on Texas Tech like the greats that have come before him.
“I was born in Lubbock,” Morton told ESPN at Big 12 media days in Frisco. “I got to see Graham Harrell, Michael Crabtree and all the greats play in that era at Texas Tech. To be in the position that I am today, it’s such an unreal feeling.”
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It’s almost hard to remember a roster without Morton attached to it for Tech. A former four star recruit, the graduate of Eastland High School arrived on campus in 2021 with a lot of buzz. It wasn’t until the following season however that fans got a true glimpse of what Morton could do.
An injury to both quarterbacks ahead of him on the depth chart forced the young redshirt-freshman into a spot start on the road at Oklahoma State. His first drive ended in a 27-yard touchdown pass less than three minutes into the game. He eventually pushed Tech to a 27-20 halftime lead over the then No. 7 ranked Cowboys on the road.
Had he not sustained what would later be described as a high ankle sprain on a hit late in the first half of this game…the story may have ended with an upset win. His performance was met with much praise regardless, including from OSU’s head coach Mike Gundy postgame.
“What year is he [Morton]?” Gundy asked the media following his team’s comeback win over the Red Raiders.
Redshirt-freshman, they responded.
“That’s not good.” Gundy said with a straight face after Morton dropped 379 yards and two touchdowns through the air plus 53 yards and one touchdown on the ground, against his defense.
Fast forward three years and his West Texas Tough DNA pushing him to play through injuries others may haven’t means fans perhaps have not seen a 100% healthy Money Morton performance since that first half in Stillwater.
“I haven’t played a healthy season since my redshirt freshman year,” the now fifth-year senior echoed himself.
A large part of that coming from taking a hard shot in 2023 versus West Virginia to his shoulder, an injury that would linger into the 2024 season as well. Despite throwing for 3,335 yards and 27 touchdowns last year, he never did feel fully like himself.
“His last game [of 2024] against West Virginia, he performed at a really high level but I do think that shoulder was always in the back of his mind. He felt like without a doubt he had more in him,” Tech head coach Joey McGuire told reporters at Big 12 media days.
So with the team preparing for the Liberty Bowl, the decision was made to shut Morton down and get the shoulder right. Keeping a competitor like him off the field, especially one who wanted to go out and fight for his seniors, is never easy. But in the end, tough days and all – everyone agrees it was the right decision.
“This offseason has been great,” expressed Morton. “Just got released three weeks ago. Everything went great. Stronger than I was before the surgery. It was a much needed surgery, I feel really good now and really excited about this season.”
He is still ramping up to a full throwing program and on a “pitch count” at this point in the offseason, but the early results are great. Good reviews per McGuire from the Manning Passing Academy Morton spent time at recently and he has no limitations, making all the throws as they slowly ramp him up to a full load before camp.
“Behren feels great,” said McGuire in an interview with Greg McElroy. “You can tell a big difference in the way he moves around…He hasn’t felt this good since his freshman year when he first got here. And he’s playing with a chip on his shoulder. He hears all the things that are being said.“
The things being all the talk about numerous other quarterbacks in the conference with Morton’s name being a mere whisper despite finishing last season third in the Big 12 in passing yards.
“The kid at Arizona State, Sam is incredible. They are talking about Josh at TCU, Sawyer at Baylor and Behren is kinda the afterthought,” said McGuire. “Behren functions really well like that, with a chip on his shoulder. I think it’s really driving him.”
It will need to as this team looks to do what no Tech team before them has – not even the greats Morton himself grew up watching – win a Big 12 Championship.
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