From Inside the Red Raiders
Behren Morton had a busy weekend. The future Red Raider led the Eastland (TX) Mavericks to a 78-54 victory over McKinney Christian in Weatherford on Friday night then headed West to attend Texas Tech’s 63-56 overtime loss to Texas at The Jones on Saturday.
The victory was a big one for Eastland, which had dropped its previous three contests in part due to a depleted roster.
“The win on Friday night was very big for our team it was the first time playing as a team since our scrimmage before the season started,” Morton told Inside the Red Raiders. “It just felt really good to get back as one. We still had some missing due to COVID and injuries.”
To be fair, Morton didn’t just lead the Mavericks to victory, he lit up the scoreboard to the tune of 486 yards, four touchdowns passing and another 125 yards and three scores on the ground.
“Coming into the week we had a good preparation for McKinney Christian and things were just clicking for us,” Morton said. ” We have some things to clean up on both sides of the ball but felt really good to get a W in the win column.”
As far as attending the Texas Tech game Saturday, Morton has gone to many games at The Jones both when he was younger growing up in Lubbock and more recently as a recruit, but this time he went as a regular Joe and sat with the Texas Tech student, a new experience which he enjoyed.
“I thought the excitement was still there in The Jones,” Morton said. “I got to sit in the student section and love the atmosphere.”
Morton was also impressed with how the offense was able to move the ball and put up a lot of points on the Longhorns.
“I thought the offense was electric,” Morton said. “Driving the ball down with ease. I was very pleased with what they did. With quarantine happening I was able to recognize the plays before they happen which was really cool to see happen.”
Though Morton couldn’t interact with the Red Raider coaching staff in person after the game as usual due to the NCAA imposed recruiting dead period over concerns with COVID-19, he did speak with head coach Matt Wells and offensive coordinator David Yost over the phone.
“Yes, sir. I got to talk to both after the game on the phone,” Morton said. “It was a heartbreaking loss but they just said they will bounce back and I know they will for K-State (Texas Tech’s next opponent) and the rest of the Big 12,” Morton said.
Morton is the crown jewel of Texas Tech’s 2021 recruiting class. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound four-star recruit and Elite11 finalist is rated as the No. 181 overall recruit in country, the No. 11 pro-style quarterback in the nation and the No. 31 overall player in Texas for the 2021 class according to the 247Sports Composite, an average of the major recruiting rankings services. 247Sports itself has Morton ranked significantly higher as the No. 103 overall prospect in the U.S., the No. 6 pro-style signal caller in the country and the No. 17 overall player in the Lone Star State.
As a high-profile recruit and the quarterback of the class Morton is doing his part to help recruit several of Texas Tech’s top prospects to jump on board.
“Yes, sir. We are still in on Cam (Cam’Ron Valdez) and Jacoby Jackson from Summit and a few more lineman we just need the dead period to end,” Morton said.
Morton’s plan is to graduate high school in December and to enroll early at Texas Tech so he can get a head start and participate in spring ball. Before that, he’s looking to make a deep playoff run with his high school teammates. Up next, Eastland (1-3) takes on Panhandle (3-1) 7:30 p.m. Friday in Post, TX.
