Behren Morton good to go for Week 2 vs. Kent State

Senior quarterback Behren Morton was one of the Texas Tech Red Raiders' most notable returning players heading into the 2025-26 college football season. He threw for 3,335 yards with 27 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions, challenging the best in the Big 12 through the air.

With high expectations for his final campaign in crimson and black, he came into the team's season opener to put on a show for a sold-out home crowd. Facing an FCS side, he delivered, completing 16 of his 20 pass attempts for 201 yards and four touchdowns, ending all eight first-half drives in a score.

A knee injury, which was later deemed as a hyperextension, took him out at halftime, but Morton was able to return to practice in the same week and was ruled day-to-day. He is now expected to start in Week 2, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Source: Texas Tech will start quarterback Behren Morton against Kent State this weekend. He’d been listed as questionable with a leg injury that forced him to leave the opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the second quarter. pic.twitter.com/9wwBmUkk1G
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 5, 2025

Morton had been ruled as questionable heading into Week 2, but the plan all along was for the senior quarterback to play against the Kent State Golden Flashes on Sept. 6, health permitting.

"If he feels great and is ready to go, then we plan on playing him [Morton]," head coach Joey McGuire said. "Because the one thing I don't want to do — I think we all saw, one, we've got a good quarterback room, but two, he's really on point right now. He and [offensive coordinator] Mack [Leftwich] are as aligned as a quarterback and a coordinator can be."

The coaching staff expressed its confidence in backup quarterback Will Hammond, who came in during the second half and led two scoring drives on two attempts. Leftwich even claimed that plenty of programs "would love to have Will Hammond as their starting quarterback."

However, McGuire emphasized that he wants to ensure Morton and Leftwich don't lose that connection as they enter Big 12 play, starting with a Week 4 matchup against the Utah Utes.

"We saw Utah as a really good football team against UCLA," McGuire said about the Utes' Week 1 win. "We want to make sure our quarterback's in rhythm. We want to make sure he's healthy, but we also want to make sure he's in rhythm."

Kent State has been one of the least impressive programs in the FBS in recent seasons. The Golden Flashes have won two of their last 25 games and have not beaten an FCS opponent since Nov. 26, 2022. There could be plenty of time for Hammond to play in Morton's place on Saturday while still allowing Tech's QB1 to get the start and maintain his rhythm from Week 1.

"I believe in our whole quarterback room," said wide receiver Reggie Virgil. "So, whoever gets in and play, I think that we'll be ready to go because all of them put in the work and all of them take the reps. … I know whoever gets in, if it's Will, then I know he'll be ready."

MORE: Texas Tech QB Behren Morton used NIL funds to make a very unique investment purchase

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Behren Morton good to go for Week 2 vs. Kent State

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