One of the most important stories for Texas Tech football fans to monitor this offseason is the ongoing recovery of starting quarterback Behren Morton, who had shoulder surgery in early December. This week, head coach Joey McGuire gave an update on how the senior is progressing as spring football nears.
Speaking with 365 Sports, McGuire said that he is pleased with where Morton is in his rehabilitation. "He's in great shape," McGuire said. "He actually goes to, he flies to California on the third for his checkup. But he's got full mobility. We expect him, he won't go through any spring football, but we expect him to start his throwing progression during spring. It'll probably be more like right around the first of April.
"But he feels great. He looks great. He's got full mobility"
This report is as good of an update as Texas Tech fans could have hoped for. When news of Morton's surgery initially broke, it was speculated that he might not be back to throwing a football until the summer months, which would have made getting ready for the start of fall camp a close call.
Of course, it isn't ideal to have Morton miss the spring given that the program will be learning and implementing a new offensive system with Mack Leftwich taking over as offensive coordinator, replacing the departed Zach Kittley.
However, the procedure was necessary. Morton has played through the injury to his right shoulder for most of the last two seasons since initially injuring it in the fourth game of the 2023 season at West Virginia. At times, that injury was so severe that it caused him to miss the 2023 game at BYU, and during much of the 2023 season, Morton was held back from throwing in practices between games just so he would be able to play on Saturdays.
Still he powered through and played quality football, especially given the physical limitations his injury imposed upon him. In 2023, Morton passed for 1,757 yards and 15 TDs with 8 picks while dealing with his sprained shoulder for every one of his eight starts. Then, last season, he started all 12 regular-season games, passing for 3,335 yards and 27 TDs with 8 interceptions despite again dealing with limitations to his throwing shoulder after aggravating the injury mid-season.
As a result, it was determined that he would skip the Red Raiders' Liberty Bowl appearance against Arkansas to have surgery as early as possible to finally correct the injury. Now, he's on the road to recovery, and his prognosis is promising.
What's more, there is a positive to be gained from Morton's absence during spring football. Starting quarterback of the future, redshirt freshman Will Hammond, will get the first-team repetitions in Morton's place, helping further the development of a promising young Red Raider who will likely replace Morton as the starter in 2026.
"This gives our young quarterback Will Hammond, he'll get all the first-team reps," McGuire said. "We've got a young man out of the portal, Mitch Griffis, who was at Wake Forest. He's been very, very impressive during football school. I'm really excited about him, and so it's going to give some of our younger guys a chance to get a lot of reps."
With Morton and Hammond in the fold, the present and future of the quarterback position in Lubbock is secure, which is something that many programs around the nation are unable to say. Fortunately, Morton appears to be on track to participate in fall camp and lead the Red Raiders in 2025, while Hammond takes another season to grow and mature. That is the best news that Texas Tech football fans could ask for on the quarterback front at this time.