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Texas Tech football QB Behren Morton leaves the game with a lower leg injury
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- Texas Tech football QB Behren Morton leaves the game with a lower leg injury
Quarterback Behren Morton left the Texas Tech football season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff shortly after he got up limping from being sacked in the second quarter on Saturday, Aug. 30, at Jones AT&T Stadium.
UAPB safety-outside linebacker Tayvon Hardwick came off the edge and hit Morton low, tweaking his right lower right leg. Hardwick was flagged for roughing the passer on the first-down play from the UAPB 11-yard line.
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Morton stayed on for the next play, handing off to J'Koby Williams, who darted off the left side for a 5-yard touchdown. After coming to the sideline, Morton and head coach Joey McGuire conferred with Tech medical staff members, who then escorted him up the ramp. Morton was walking without assistance.
A few minutes later, Morton returned to the sideline and joined a huddle of the Red Raiders ' quarterbacks around offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich, the quarterbacks coach.
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McGuire told the Tech radio network at halftime that Morton was OK.
"Yeah, he's good. He's good," Morton said on the radio broadcast.
Morton completed 16 of 18 passes for 201 yards and four touchdowns, giving Tech a 37-0 lead. He threw two TD passes to tight end Terrance Carter Jr. and one each to wide receivers Reggie Virgil and Coy Eakin.
Sophomore Will Hammond replaced Morton to start the next series at 7:01 before halftime.
Morton has been bothered by injuries to his right ankle and his right collarbone over the course of his career. Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed surgery in December to repair Morton's grade-3 sprain to the AC joint.
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The senior from Eastland suffered a collarbone injury during the September 2023 Big 12 opener at West Virginia. Top orthopedic surgeons Dr. Keith Meister and ElAttrache did not recommend surgery after that season, and Morton threw for career highs of 3,335 yards and 27 touchdowns last season.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Behren Morton leaves Texas Tech football game with lower-leg injury
