Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton has shed the walking boot that he’s spent the second half of the season wearing during the week, and he feels 100% ahead of the Red Raiders’ College Football Playoff opener against Oregon on Thursday.
“Staying in a boot the whole entire week, not getting to practice, then taking the boot off on Saturday and getting to play, it was not fun at all,” Morton told reporters Tuesday.
The quarterback played the second half of the season with a hairline fracture in his right fibula that he suffered Oct. 11 in a win against Kansas. He missed two games — including the Red Raiders’ only loss at Arizona State — but when Morton returned, he was held out of most practice activities.
Morton still helped steer the Red Raiders to an 11-1 regular season followed by a 34-7 win over BYU in the Big 12 Championship Game, locking up the No. 4 seed and a first-round playoff bye in the process.
The team has had 26 days between that conference title and the New Year’s Day game at the Orange Bowl, which helped Morton heal up. He stopped wearing the boot after the Big 12 title game, he said Tuesday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
“This whole bowl prep has been really good for me,” Morton said. “I’ve been basically at hundred percent in practice as far as team reps. I haven’t been able to do team reps really all season long. … Just getting the body back to playing football again — it’s been a while since I’ve gotten to do that.”
Texas Tech has relied on its stout defense, which ranks third in the FBS in both fewest points (10.92 per game) and yards allowed (254.4). The Red Raiders’ final four opponents were held to single-digit points.
But Morton believes the offense opens up more when he’s able to play. In 11 games, he has thrown for 2,643 yards, 22 touchdowns and just four interceptions on a Big 12-best 67% completion percentage.
“We have so many playmakers, though,” he said. “It makes my job easy. If I can find them open and get the ball to them quickly, I think we can be pretty explosive.”
