As he rose from a chair to wrap up his portion of a news conference Tuesday, Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire gave an unsolicited endorsement for Behren Morton as the Red Raiders’ quarterback.
In January, national college football reporter Pete Thamel said Texas Tech was “pushing hard” for a starting quarterback. And given the millions The Matador Club collective spent attracting players from the NCAA transfer portal, others have speculated Tech as a landing spot for portal-bound Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava.”Our quarterback’s in this room,” McGuire said, referring to Morton, seated nearby. “We’ve got a great quarterback room with Will Hammond and Mitch (Griffis) and Holden Philips. We were at no point, in any time, in conversations with anybody about a quarterback, without a doubt.”
Even a little compromised last season, Morton threw for 3,335 yards and 27 touchdowns, both top-20 in the FBS.Now if the Red Raiders can just get Morton back on the field and winging it.That starts next week. Morton’s been out, though not inactive, this spring while rehabbing from elective shoulder surgery in December. The Red Raiders’ senior quarterback said Tuesday he’ll begin throwing April 22, five to 10 throws at 10 yards, then multiply it daily under a program designed by Tom Gormely.
Morton is returning to Jacksonville, Florida, for the second year in a row to train directly with Gormely, a sports performance coach and physical therapist whose clients include many college and NFL quarterbacks and MLB pitchers.
Morton plans to spend at least a week in Jacksonville shortly after he graduates on May 17.
“I’ve been doing a lot of (plyometrics), medicine balls, stuff like that,” he said, “so I’m excited to get a ball in my hand. Hopefully, I will be throwing fully 100% once I get to Jacksonville and then after that, I’ll come back in June. I’ll be 100% doing everything with the team, which I’m really excited about.”
If there’s a note of caution to Tech’s upbeat offseason, it’s that the key cogs in the Red Raiders’ passing game have been sidelined for spring practice: Morton for all of it, Caleb Douglas (knee) and Coy Eakin (back) for most of it, Reggie Virgil (toe) for the second half of it. They’re all projected starters.McGuire said the receivers should be back on the field the first session of summer school. He said he’s optimistic they can make up for lost time.
“Whenever we come back in June, we have six football schools with the coaches,” McGuire said, “and then the players will take over in July with their football schools. I think they’ll have maybe four more of those, and then they’ll throw. They’ll have, through June and July, 7-on-7 that they’ll run, so I feel good about that.”Morton said there’s also been discussion of returning to Jacksonville in July with multiple Red Raiders receivers.
Morton’s remained plenty visible. On the field, in ballcap and T-shirt, he’s stayed engaged to the extent he can. In the weight room, he’s doing bench presses and back squats for the first time in more than a year. In the quarterbacks room, he’s absorbing what new offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich is cooking up.
