It has been over a month since Texas Tech’s historic season ended down in Miami in a shutout loss to Oregon. Quarterback Behren Morton had one of the worst games in his Red Raider career. Morton was an easy scapegoat to point to as to why Texas Tech had hit its ceiling in 2025. Quarterback Will Hammond is rehabbing from a torn ACL. He likely will not be ready for week one of the 2026 season. Joey McGuire wasted no time reloading in the transfer portal, landing Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby. Fans should be excited for Sorsby in the 2026 season. However, the Morton era deserves proper recognition for the contributions to growing the Texas Tech program.
Started on October 15th, 2019
It’s well documented that Morton’s dad was a long-time high school football coach at Eastland High School, located in northern central Texas. It’s a three-and-a-half-hour drive from the high school to Jones At&t stadium. Morton grew up rooting for the Red Raiders and developed into a four-star recruit out of high school. He had offers from Texas A&M, Wisconsin, USC, SMU, Kansas, Baylor, Boston College, TCU, and Washington State. But on October 15th, 2019, he verbally committed to the Red Raiders. It was Matt Wells’ first season as head coach for the Red Raiders, in which he went 4-8. Despite the losing season, Morton never wavered in his verbal commitment. He finally put ink to paper on December 16th, 2020. Texas Tech would sputter through another four-win campaign in 2020.
When the Morton Era began (when he arrived on campus), Texas Tech hadn’t been ranked in the top 25 for two-and-a-half seasons. In fact, Morton was only nine years old the last time the Red Raiders were ranked higher than 24th. But his arrival on campus brought new reasons for hope. To date, he is the highest-rated 247 Sports-rated quarterback to have ever signed with the Red Raiders out of high school. He would have to redshirt his first year as Tyler Shough and Donovan Smith were taking QB1 snaps in the 2021 season.
Injuries Paved The Way For Starting Action
Wells would be fired midway through the 2021 season. Morton did not decide to transfer as McGuire took over the following season. With revisionist history, it is ironic that Shough’s inability to stay healthy is what forced Morton into getting significant snaps/starts both in 2022 and 2023. His debut game as a starter saw him attempt 62 passes for 379 yards and two touchdowns in a road loss to Oklahoma State. During those two seasons with Shough on the roster, Morton saw significant playing time in 13 of 26 games. Shough would transfer to Louisville before the start of the 2024 season, allowing the Morton era to no longer be a timeshare. He was the undisputed QB1 heading into spring camp. However, Morton was shut down for spring practice due to a nagging shoulder injury.
But Morton would be ready for week one, and the offense was officially his. The Red Raiders would go 8-4 during that regular season. In the four losses, Morton’s touchdown-to-interception ratio was 3/2. His completion percentage was an average 61.25%. For comparison, in the eight victories, he had a TD-to-INT ratio of 19:4 and a completion percentage of 64.94%.
The Morton Era Was One Of The Best And Toughest In Texas Tech History
In both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, two full seasons, Morton played with a Grade 3 AC joint sprain of his throwing shoulder. To break down what this means specifically, it involves a complete tear of ligaments connecting the collarbone and shoulder blade. Morton finally had surgery on the shoulder at the end of the 2024 season and entered the 2025 season fully healthy. All reports were he was a new quarterback in practice and expectations were sky high. Except the injury bug showed up again. He suffered a leg injury in week one, but it wasn’t publicly known what the injury was until week 10 against BYU. Morton had suffered a hairline fracture in his tibia. He only missed two games in spite of the injury.
Even with a broken leg, Morton would have his best season as a Texas Tech quarterback. He would throw for 2,780 yards with a completion percentage of 66%, and a TD-to-INT ratio 11/3. Morton was a major factor in leading Texas Tech to its first-ever Big 12 championship in 2025. The final note of the Morton era is one he and every Red Raider fan would like to forget.
But this is a young man who lived out his childhood dream. He did not chase greener pastures in the transfer portal, which is the expectation for just about any quarterback who isn’t a starter these days. He finished his career fourth all-time in passing yards (8,989), fourth in passing touchdowns (71), and tied for second in games played (45). This is a foundational piece any program would love to have, especially one trying to establish itself as a new threat to claim a national championship.
West Texas gives Morton one last cowboy hat tip as he rides off into the college football sunset.
Main Image: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
