For the third time this season, Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton left the field due to an injury during a game won by the Red Raiders.
And head coach Joey McGuire said Monday there’s a good chance Behren Morton will go three out of three being back in the lineup to start a week later.
Morton favored his right leg after a second-quarter sack against Kansas on Saturday, but he will likely be available for the undefeated Red Raiders (6-0) when they face defending Big 12 champion Arizona State (4-2) in Tempe this week.
“This guy is the toughest kid I’ve ever coached. His pain tolerance and his endurance and attention factor are really high,” McGuire said. “So it’s day to day. We’ll see how he feels.”
Morton started all six games for the No. 7 Red Raiders this season, but he only finished one. He was able to rely heavily on a good running game. Cameron Dickey is coming off a 263-yard performance against Kansas last week.
Morton completed 68.4% of his passes (104 of 152) for 1,501 yards with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions in 2025.
Texas Tech is 3-0 in the Big 12, followed by the defending conference champion Sun Devils. Texas Tech outscored ASU 14-0 in the first quarter and won 30-22 in Lubbock last season. Morton passed for two touchdowns and 201 yards.
The Sun Devils are not completely healthy at quarterback. Sam Leavitt played injured for several weeks, then was demoted before Utah’s loss. If Sims can’t play, backup Jeff Sims gets the call again.
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said Leavitt will attempt to practice this week before a decision is made on the QB depth chart.
“We’re still in the same holding pattern, I would say, unfortunately,” Dillingham said.
Dillingham pointed to Texas Tech’s win over Utah this season as a warning for his team not to overlook the Red Raiders if backup Will Hammond gets the start in Morton’s place. Hammond came on in relief to help the Red Raiders beat the Utes, the team that buried Arizona State 42-10 last week.
“Texas Tech played this team (Utah) and they won. And they won at the line of scrimmage. So that tells you what their front looks like on both sides of the ball,” Dillingham said of his focus on the task at hand. “We lost. It sucks. Learn from it. And you have to go to the next game.”
–Field level media
