Perhaps no recruit in the country received a bigger boost from 247Sports’ updated 2021 football rankings than Texas Tech commit Behren Morton.
Already previously a highly ranked four-star prospect, Morton vaulted some 87 spots from No. 191 to No. 104 in 247Sports’ national rankings update Wednesday.
“I’m thrilled to see my numbers go up,” Morton said. “I love to see my hard work pay off for people to see.”
In addition to being ranked as the 104th overall recruit in the 2021 class, the 6-foot-2, 185 pounder from Eastland (TX) High School also ranks fifth among pro style quarterbacks in the country and 17th overall in Texas. Morton’s recruit rating also improved a point from 92 to 93.
247Sports national recruiting analyst Gabe Brooks explained Morton’s jump in the rankings:
“Morton is a functionally athletic quarterback who thrives at the Texas Class 3A level for Eastland High School between Fort Worth and Abilene. Despite the small-school competition, Morton shows plenty to be excited about with an easy delivery that produces consistently good snap and velocity. Morton shows enough athleticism to extend plays and find receivers downfield with off-schedule capabilities. The result in 2019 was almost 2,800 passing yards, 29 touchdown throws, and only five interceptions, along with six rushing TD’s. He completed 60.1 percent of his pass attempts and takes a 61.4 percent rate from the last two years into his senior campaign.”
And after catching up with Morton recently, it’s clear he has two things on his mind–preparing for his senior season at Eastland and his career at Texas Tech.
“Since day 1 of corona I have been waking up Monday through Friday at 6:30 to go work out with some of my buddies in a garage,” Morton said. “I am also a ranchhand throughout the day and just making a little money for the summer. This shut down has not affected me at all, if anything it has been a good thing for me. It’s just more time to focus on what I need to work on before the season and before I get to Tech.”
Morton visited Texas Tech twice in the spring before the coronavirus shut everything down. Those visits allowed him to get more acclimated with offensive coordinator David Yost’s system and how practices are run.
“Taking those visits early in the spring has really helped and I feel once I get there in December the playbook will be a lot more easier to process,” Morton said. “Monday through Friday, I zoom with Coach Yost just to check up and go over some of the offense so I’m hearing from them almost every day.”
Morton is the jewel of Texas Tech’s 2021 recruiting class which currently features eight commits. He actively helps the coaching staff recruit and helps the prospects get to know one another after jumping on board.
“This class is something special, we are very close, we talk on the daily,” Morton said. “(We’re) always staying in touch and always trying to recruit more!”
That’s right, Morton plans on graduating early, signing in December and being on Texas Tech campus next spring.
“I saw a lot of successful quarterbacks graduate early and I’ve always thought about doing it,” Morton said. “Coach Yost asked me if I wanted to and I told him that I’ve already thought about it and was going to do it.”
