During Graham Harrell’s storied career at Texas Tech, he didn’t just lead the Red Raiders to a program-defining win and their best record this century in 2008 — he was unknowingly shaping the program’s next generation.
Kids looked up to the Red Raider quarterback. They dreamed of being him or even meeting him.
And one lucky elementary school-aged Behren Morton got the chance when Harrell visited his school one day to play catch during recess.
A photo from that day shows Harrell and a handful of young children out on the playground. Morton is front and center, proudly wearing a shirt with the Double T.
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“I still have a really, really good memory of [Harrell] taking an interest in me,” Morton said.
Harrell knew the Morton family, as Behren’s father was the head coach at Lubbock Monterey High School for 13 years. But it wasn’t until after Harrell’s playing career when he started coaching at North Texas and recruiting Morton that the two came to know each other well.
Former Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell (left) poses for a photo with a group of fans, including current Red Raiders quarterback Behren Morton (bottom right)
Courtesy: Texas Tech Athletics / Texas Tech Athletics
“When I was in college, he was just a little kid running around,” said Harrell, now the offensive coordinator at Abilene Christian. “But as he’s gotten older, I’ve gotten to know him a lot better.”
Instead of following Harrell to North Texas, Morton dreamed of following in his footsteps in Lubbock.
Now, the two quarterbacks are more linked than ever.
Morton is preparing to play the biggest game of his career Saturday when the No. 8 Red Raiders host No. 7 BYU. He’s led the Red Raiders to an 8-1 start — their best since that 2008 season when Harrell was at the helm.
“We probably lived very similar lives, coach’s kids that probably grew up in a coach’s office, and you know what football means to you,” Harrell said. “As a kid, he got to see some really great years at Texas Tech. Now, for him to be the guy that’s having that kind of success again, it makes you feel good.”
But at times during Texas Tech’s start to the 2025 season, it wasn’t clear whether Morton would take the field for his team’s biggest moments.
The quarterback has been the latest in a long line of Red Raiders signal callers to face injury after injury. Three times in just seven games this season, Morton has been sidelined by an injury. He missed two full games as a result before marking his return last week in the win over Kansas State.
“It’s kind of been a Tech deal,” Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said. “When I was at Baylor, it was kind of a Baylor deal, too. It’s unfortunate.
“I hated it for him.”
But when Morton has been in the lineup, the Texas Tech offense has been a juggernaut, ranking fifth in the nation in yards per game (492.3) and fourth in points per game (43.6). Morton has passed for 1,750 yards and 15 touchdowns with four interceptions.
Texas Tech is hoping all the adversity Morton has faced already this season has just been preparation for what’s set to be a grueling test Saturday with Big 12 title game and College Football Playoff implications on the line.
“He’s everything that this program represents and wants to be,” offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich said. “This area of West Texas is a tough place. It’s a tough place with tough people, and he fits that well.”
Overcoming adversity
Morton and his coaching staff boil his injuries down to bad luck.
He wasn’t injury-prone in high school. He’s not a particularly mobile quarterback who regularly puts himself in vulnerable positions. His coaches don’t think they’re calling plays that put him at risk, either.
But their quarterback has still gotten hurt in nearly half the games he’s played this season.
Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton (2) stands during the school song after the NCAA college football game between Texas Tech and Kansas, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Annie Rice)
Annie Rice / AP
Against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the season opener, he came up limping after he was sacked, suffering what McGuire called a hyperextended knee. Three games later, against Utah, he suffered a concussion. Two games after that against Kansas, his right leg got caught under a pass rusher when he was sacked in the second quarter.
“That’s just kind of part of the game that you play,” Morton said. “Those guys are coming at you hot.”
Quarterback injuries have been an issue in the program since even before McGuire took over. In 2018, Alan Bowman was hospitalized for a partially collapsed lung. Bowman suffered a season-ending collarbone injury in 2019.
In 2021, Tyler Shough missed the final nine games with a broken collarbone. In 2022, Texas Tech used three quarterbacks — Donovan Smith, Morton and Shough — due to injuries. In 2023, Shough broke his fibula four games into the season. Last season, Morton suffered a shoulder injury against TCU and played through the injury all year before offseason surgery.
In addition to Morton’s injuries this year, backup quarterback Will Hammond tore his ACL against Oklahoma State two games ago and is out for the rest of the season.
“It’s frustrating because that position carries so much weight,” McGuire said. “I don’t care what level you’re at, if you don’t have a quarterback, you don’t have a chance to be a great football team.”
In his return against Kansas State, Morton led the Red Raiders to a 43-20 win, throwing for 249 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
“He just kind of elevates everybody around him,” Leftwich said. “When he’s been playing quarterback, we’ve been pretty hard to stop.”
Red Raider for life
In this era of college football, it might sound like an anomaly that a home-grown quarterback spent all five years at a program despite a head coaching change and three offensive coordinator changes in five years.
When that program also went out and spent $12 million on 21 transfers this offseason, it might come as a surprise that they didn’t invest in a quarterback.
But Texas Tech’s coaches and Morton, himself, said there was no question where the Lubbock native would spend his last college season.
Former Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell (left) and current Red Raiders quarterback Behren Morton (right).
Courtesy: Texas Tech Athletics / Texas Tech Athletics
“If you cut Behren Morton, he bleeds Texas Tech red and black,” McGuire said.
McGuire has had faith in all the skilled quarterbacks who have come through his system, but his relationship with Morton is special. He’s known Morton’s family for a long time. He recruited the quarterback while at Baylor.
Morton is even a member of his charity golf team, which features McGuire’s son, his offensive line coach and his starting quarterback.
“He’s kind of my security blanket,” McGuire said. “I stay nervous throughout the week and, of course, during the game, but there’s just something about having Behren Morton on the field playing that breathes confidence in everything that we do.”
When Tech made a coaching change ahead of the 2022 season, Morton was there to welcome McGuire at his introductory press conference. When Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley left last offseason for the head job at Florida Atlantic, he embraced Leftwich stepping into the role. His commitment to the program has been unwavering since Harrell showed up to his elementary school nearly two decades ago.
“He’s seen some good, he’s seen some bad, he’s been through a coaching change, but through it all, he’s been resilient, and he’s played at a high level,” Harrell said. “He’s played a huge role in the success they’ve had just because he’s been a constant.”
Tech’s postseason is largely riding on if the Red Raiders can take down BYU, the only undefeated team left in their conference. ESPN’s College GameDay will be in town, and in a tight Big 12 race, it’s make or break.
The Red Raiders haven’t lost yet with Morton in the starting lineup. There isn’t a much bigger opportunity for the hometown kid.
“I always knew my heart was in Lubbock,” Morton said. “This has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. This is what I dreamed of growing up, College GameDay coming to your town. To get to play for that means the world.”
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