Midway through the first half Saturday night, Behren Morton took off running and dove into the Jones AT&T Stadium turf onto his left shoulder.
The left shoulder’s not the one that was the source of so much consternation last season, but it makes the people watching Texas Tech football hold their breath just the same.
“First time he ran and slid and made sure he was on his left side and not his right side — all that stuff we’ve been talking about for a full year,” Tech coach Joey McGuire said, “I asked him, ‘How’d it feel getting hit?’ He was like, ‘Oh, coach, we’re ready to go. I feel great.’ “
Indeed, Morton gave the Red Raiders nothing to worry about in an otherwise tense 52-51 overtime victory against Abilene Christian in the season opener. The fourth-year junior from Eastland threw for a career-high five touchdowns, completing 30 of 42 passes for 378 yards, the latter figure one off his career high.
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Morton picked up where he left off last season when he was voted most outstanding offensive player of the Independence Bowl. In between, he was shut down in spring football after six practices because of his troublesome right shoulder and spent part of the off-season seeking advice on how to keep it healthy.
McGuire and offensive coordinator Zach Kittley have harped on him about avoiding needless contact and throwing the ball away when a receiver’s not open.
“I think he got the ball out on time, and he limited the times that he got hit,” McGuire said when asked what he liked best about Morton’s performance. “A lot of it’s the offensive line, but some of it’s the quarterback, too. I just thought his timing getting the ball out was really big.
“I thought he checked us into some good runs whenever we needed to and, man, he man he made some big throws. That last throw to C.D. was a big-time throw.”
Texas Tech football gets group effort from receiving corps in win over Abilene Christian
Morton threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Caleb Douglas in overtime. That, and the PAT were the difference in a too-tight opener for a power-conference team against an FCS opponent.
Morton has developed a quick rapport with Josh Kelly, a transfer from Washington State who caught 10 passes for 156 yards.
“It’s real easy,” Kelly said, “especially when it’s something you work on a lot during the summer, during the fall. We obviously didn’t have much of a spring with B (Morton), but our main focus when he came back was getting that connection with all the receivers.”
Kelly caught his first touchdown pass with the Red Raiders by way of a flea flicker. Tahj Brooks, who carried 27 times for 153 yards, took a handoff from Morton and then pitched the ball back to the quarterback. Morton had Kelly running wide open down the middle for a 35-yard TD.
He targeted Kelly 15 times.
“They left the middle of the field pretty open,” Morton said, “so we can target that middle of the field. Obviously, the flea flicker, some of the RPOs that we hit over the middle, too. But again, it goes back to the chemistry we have, too. It’s not just with Josh.”
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Texas Tech football receiver Coy Eakin has two TDs in opener after career night at Independence Bowl
Coy Eakin, coming off seven catches for a career-high 102 yards in the bowl win over California, caught two first-half touchdown passes and finished with five catches for 76 yards. Arizona State transfer Jalin Conyers caught a 36-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-13, falling backward and getting a foot down along the end-zone sideline. The big tight end finished with five catches for 63 yards.
Douglas, the transfer from Florida, caught four passes for 42 yards.
“To have that chemistry with the whole entire group,” Morton said, “is really special.”
The much-anticipated debut of five-star recruit Micah Hudson barely materialized. The freshman from Temple Lake Belton got into the game only briefly and didn’t catch a pass.
McGuire said there was nothing wrong with Hudson, but such a tight game wasn’t the time to break him in.
“Those three guys (Kelly, Eakin and Douglas) were playing really, really well,” McGuire said, “and in a game like that, you’re like, ‘Hey, make sure you’ve got your old guys in. The game’s not bigger than what they’ve played in.’ “
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This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Behren Morton’s 5 TD passes fuel Texas Tech football in tense opener
