Texas Tech football's Behren Morton: 5 things to know about the Red Raiders quarterback

Behren Morton took over as quarterback for the Texas Tech football team's quarterback in the second quarter of Saturday's Big 12 opener at West Virginia after Tyler Shough left with an apparent ankle injury.

Shough was carted off the field with an air cast around his left ankle with 28 seconds left in the opening period. Morton's first snaps of the game came in the second quarter on Tech's next offensive possession.

Here's what to know about Morton, who is a familiar name to Red Raider fans.

Behren Morton has some experience with Texas Tech football

Morton has moved up the depth chart over the past few years and has plenty of experience with the Texas Tech football team.

Starting the 2022 campaign as the Red Raiders' No. 3 quarterback, injuries to Tyler Shough and then Donovan Smith forced Morton into action. He wound up playing in nine games, completing 96 of his 169 passing attempts for 1,117 yards. He had seven touchdowns and threw six interceptions.

Morton was born in Lubbock

Morton's father, James, was the head football coach at Monterey High School when Behren was born. He spent the first 11 years of his life growing up in the Hub City before James Morton took jobs at Midland Lee and then his alma mater Eastland, where Behren also graduated. He led the Mavericks to the region final in 2020.

He grew up idolizing Graham Harrell

During his time growing up in Lubbock, Morton dreamt of being a quarterback like former Texas Tech great Graham Harrell.

In an in-depth profile of the gunslinger last year, the Avalanche-Journal's Don Williams chronicled Morton's admiration for the former first-team all-American who finished fourth in the Heisman voting in 2004.

He spent part of the summer sporting cornrows

Morton has since ditched the hair style, but it's a fun fact.

He's one of Tech's top QB recruits in history

Part of the 2021 recruiting class under previous head coach Matt Wells, Morton was one of 11 QBs nominated for the 2020 National High School Quarterback of the Year Award presented by the National Quarterback Club.

Morton was rated the 198th overall prospect in the ESPN300 coming out of high school and was a consensus four-star recruit. He is the highest-rated QB signed by Tech in the Rivals/247Sports era.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football's Behren Morton: 5 things to know