Behren Morton's productive offseason preparing him for senior year

Going into your senior season on the sideline during spring football is not ideal, especially with a new offensive coordinator coming in. Still, quarterback Behren Morton thinks watching from a spectator's view has prepared him more than ever for his final season at Texas Tech.

For the first time in his college career, the senior from Eastland started last season as the starter, and it seems to have been a successful move, with the Red Raiders being 14-4 when Morton starts and finishes a game.

He averaged 277.9 yards per game and logged 28 touchdowns during the 2024 season, and he looks to continue and improve those numbers this season, but now with a renovated shoulder.

Morton had shoulder surgery on Dec. 10, 2024. With rehab and the finishing touches coming up to complete his recovery, he will begin throwing again next week.

"This has been the most productive spring I've had since I've been in college," Morton told the media on Tuesday. "This has just really taught me how to understand that I can't play every snap, and so the mental part learning coach Leftwich's offense, you know it's been great.

It's been great to mentor Will (Hammond), Holden Phillips... It's been great for my leadership side of what I want to do."

The mental aspect of Morton's game has grown exponentially, and with Tech's spring game on Saturday, it's time for him to slowly start moving towards playing at full speed with the team by the summer.

"I start throwing next Tuesday," Morton said. "Been doing a lot of plyos (plyometric), medicine balls, stuff like that. Excited to get a ball in my hand."

Along with getting his shoulder right, head coach Joey McGuire is proud of how much Morton has done on the nutrition aspect of the offseason, losing around 10 pounds so far.

"I've really taken it serious with our nutritionists," Morton said. "I sat down with them one on one, just kind of went over what I want to be at by season... shed off some of the pounds that I had to keep myself protected from the previous years.

Taking the nutrition side and the weight room side very seriously because I'm not getting the reps at practice."

"Last year he probably weighed around 220 to 221, now he's fluctuating between 210 and 213," McGuire said. "Probably because he's not eating as much Taco Bell or Whataburger."

With all kidding aside, at the end of his session at the press conference, McGuire made sure to give Behren his flowers and address the rumors that the coaching staff is not after any new quarterbacks in the portal at this time, and made sure to hit the fact that "our quarterback is in the room right now."

"I've stuck my time out here at Tech and I've been through the hard parts of being a Red Raider," Morton said. "I can't thank this staff enough for what they've done... he's (McGuire) loyal and he's honest, he's a straightforward guy and he's a man of his word.

Gave the opportunity to a small town kid to play this big of football. I love every part of it, and I'm really excited about the season."

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