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Behren Morton eager to air it out after comeback from shoulder injury
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- Behren Morton eager to air it out after comeback from shoulder injury
The Texas Tech football team started spring practice on Tuesday, refreshingly absent debate over who should be the starting quarterback. Behren Morton is that guy, and he took all the snaps a Red Raiders No. 1 quarterback would normally take on the first day.
A debate might well evolve regarding the pecking order behind him, where redshirt freshman Jake Strong , sophomore transfer Cameran Brown and blue-chip signee Will Hammond will wage their own competition. More on that in a moment.
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The most interesting question Morton can answer is how the offense will look different come the 2024 season, given an AC joint injury compromised his ability to run it for most of last season.
Morton, though the injury did not require surgery, alluded to still getting the strength back in his throwing shoulder. Gesturing to his right shoulder, Morton said he's been "spending hours and hours still in the training room, trying to get this thing healthy."
When it happens, he said, people are going to notice a difference.
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"This offense is going to be very explosive," he said. "Once a healthy shoulder comes back, we can open up the playbook and dive into some of the plays that we didn't get to see last year."
Asked to elaborate, he said, "More of the deeper plays, more play-action stuff, the true Air Raid Texas Tech . We had to rely on (running back) Tahj (Brooks last year). He did a great job. The guys up front, too, they did a great job."
Next season, Morton continued, he expects "to open up the playbook and take the shots we need to take down field when it's time to take the shots. We couldn't take those last year. But with a healthy shoulder and some guys up front that are going to do a great job, we're going to see more of that."
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Jake Strong, Cameran Brown, Will Hammond vie for Texas Tech football No. 2 quarterback job
The Tech quarterback position got hit by a double whammy last year in the Big 12 opener when Tyler Shough suffered a broken fibula and Morton suffered a grade-3 sprain to the AC joint. Morton wound up playing through it except when he couldn't go against Brigham Young in game eight.
Should Morton get hurt this year, the next man up is something to be determined this spring — or, this summer or in preseason camp.
Strong played in three Tech games last season, starting one. Brown, who came to Tech from Division II West Georgia , offers a different look — one Tech coach Joey McGuire compares to former Tech QB Donovan Smith . And Hammond is the heralded freshman who enrolled in January. For Hutto last season, he passed for 3,901 yards and 35 touchdowns and rushed for 1,077 yards and 19 TDs.
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"Cameran Brown brings a whole different level," McGuire said, "whenever you're talking about running quarterback power, running quarterback counter, running some of the stuff we were able to do with Donovan that we didn't do as much (last year). He brings a whole different (style), as far as opening up the scheme with the quarterback run game. He does have a big arm. I've been happy with the way he's thrown the ball."
Brown passed for 914 yards and 10 touchdowns last season at West Georgia, making offensive freshman of the year in the Gulf South Conference. He rushed for 478 yards and six TDs.
"If we were going into a game tomorrow," McGuire said, "because of his knowledge of the playbook, (the No. 2) would be Jake. But I would say Cameran Brown would play just as much as Jake would, just from the standpoint we want to use him in a lot of different areas."
New transfer Cameron Brown gives Texas Tech different skill set
Brown is 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, and McGuire said special-teams coordinator Kenny Perry would like to use him on those units.
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"That tells you what kind of makeup (Brown has)," McGuire said. "He's sat in on a couple of special-teams meetings that coach (Zach) Kittley has had to come get him because the quarterbacks are meeting at the same time. He's like, 'Coach Perry said I'm going to play special teams, too.'
"It's going to be interesting. I do like where we're at with those three guys behind Behren."
Behren Morton (2) delivers a pass during a Texas Tech spring practice session on March 19. Morton, shut down for shoulder soreness after six practices, was in Jacksonville, Florida, this past week for workouts and rehab on his AC joint injury.
Strong, forced into action after Morton aggravated the shoulder injury, completed 35 of 65 for 409 yards and two touchdowns. But he threw six interceptions: three each against Kansas State and BYU.
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McGuire said Brown needs to focus on his footwork to improve his mechanics and Strong needs to worry less about getting the offense into the perfect play. Both Morton and Strong, McGuire said, were guilty last season of trying to check into a better play when the original call would have been OK.
"One thing I've told Jake," McGuire said, "is, 'Hey, it doesn't have to be the perfect play.' "
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Texas Tech's Cameran Brown throws the ball during a spring football practice, Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at the Sports Performance Center.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Behren Morton eager to air it out after comeback from shoulder injury
