Proponent or pouter, campaigner or cynic. No matter what your sentiments are towards the advent of NIL and the transfer portal into collegiate sports, one thing is unequivocally true. It does introduce more parity across the CFB landscape. The dispersion of talent is much wider and much less concentrated in the Alabamas and Georgias of the world. But the polarizing and divisive nature of these modern appendages is how they allow schools to microwave their way to success. Especially the portal, which has negated the need for the long-drawn graft of recruiting from high school. Colorado, with Deion Sanders fanning the flames, has probably been the biggest adopter and beneficiary of the portal recently. Leading to a Big 12 contemporary of theirs seeing their relative success and taking things up a notch.

Barring sporadic bursts of prominence when the likes of Patrick Mahomes grace Lubbock, the Texas Tech Red Raiders have historically been an afterthought in the Big 12. An ancillary to bluebloods Oklahoma and Texas. Well, those two have realigned now, and the conference is more open than ever. Texas Tech realizes this and is pouring unprecedented amounts of resources and backing into its football program led by HC Joey McGuire.

The Red Raiders have ramped up the NIL funding at McGuire’s disposal, and he has reciprocated by constructing a stacked roster ahead of the ‘25 season. Arguably the best they’ve had in a very long time. TTU had the best portal class in the country this off-season and is poised to compete for the conference championship and a CFP berth. But Joey McGuire knows the team will only go as far as their quarterback takes them.

QB1 Behren Morton hasn’t had a seamless TTU career by any means. After redshirting as a freshman in 2021, Morton began the next two seasons as backup to new Saints rookie Tyler Shough. But Shough’s injury-riddled stint meant Morton started 4 and then 8 games across those seasons. A number that would’ve been higher if he didn’t contend with injuries himself. He entered the 2024 season as the starter and, barring a few hiccups with his shoulder, was relatively healthy throughout. Behren Morton threw for 3,335 yards, 27 TDs, and 8 picks in 12 starts. Taking his total college tally to 6,209, 49, and 22, respectively. An old-fashioned pocket passer who doesn’t really threaten with his legs downfield, Morton is fresh off shoulder surgery and entering his final season of eligibility. And his coach, Joey McGuire, has just resounded a warning about him to the rest of the Big 12.

Coach McGuire guested on ESPN’s “Always College Football” podcast with Greg McElroy to discuss the Red Raiders. The most fascinating soundbite was him speaking about Behren Morton’s rehab and how he’s carrying “a chip on his shoulder.” Hearing the fervor around the likes of ASU’s Sam Leavitt has lit a proverbial fire in his belly. After McElroy asked Coach McGuire about Morton and “what we can expect to see” from the signal caller, he said, “You probably saw a big smile on my face as soon as you said Behren Morton! That’s my dude, man. I love that kid. He’s a coach’s kid. He’s tough. He loves football. He loves Texas Tech.” Joey McGuire proceeded to commend Morton for staying ten toes down through internal and external distractions à la injuries and NIL. As well as give insight into the QB’s mentality entering his last year in Lubbock.

“In the world that we live in right now, [Behren Morton] started and he is finishing at the same school,” said Joey McGuire. Texas Tech, being such massive subscribers of the portal themselves, can respect their own not wavering despite being a backup entering his 3rd year at the program. “He’s playing with a chip on his shoulder. I mean, he hears all the things that are being said. The kid at Arizona State is absolutely incredible. [Sam Leavitt is] incredible. They’re talking about him, they’re talking about Josh Hoover at TCU. They’re talking about Sawyer Roberston at Baylor, you know, and Behren’s kind of the afterthought. But you look statistically… he’s right up there with all those guys that you’re talking about. So Behren functions really well like that, with a chip on his shoulder. I think it’s really driving him,” warned Coach McGuire.

Joey McGuire also addressed the elephant in the room. It’s great that Behren Morton is driven by the lack of national discourse or spotlight on him and is a model player. But is he healthy post-surgery? The head coach provided an update that was pleasantly shocking.

Joey McGuire’s update on Behren Morton’s shoulder fuels even more excitement

“Behren feels great,” remarked Joey McGuire before proceeding to elaborate on what stage of recovery Morton is in. “He’s still on a pitch count, and we just drive that pitch count up on his throwing days. Yesterday, his pitch count was at 75. He can throw every [type of] b–l, but we’re not going over 75,” he said. Interestingly, McGuire reckons Behren Morton isn’t just okay again- he’s better than ever.

“I think one thing that he’s really excited about [is that] he hasn’t felt this good since his freshman year. It’s not just his shoulder, it’s his whole body. We really bulked him up last year because we wanted to keep him healthy, and so he probably played at 223 lbs last year. He’s at 213 lbs right now. He just looks different, and he feels really, really good.” remarked Joey McGuire. Texas native Morton was a Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award nominee last year, an award that Shedeur Sanders of Colorado pipped him to. With him gone, he’s probably targeting that hardware for himself.

There’s a lot of buzz around Texas Tech after they’ve pushed all their chips to the center this off-season. Befittingly, the man under center will be tasked with taking them to the Promised Land. The Red Raiders are one of the most intriguing storylines heading into fall.