The Texas Tech Red Raiders built an early lead against the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday and led by three points at the half. However, when Behren Morton left the lineup with what is being called a left shoulder injury, their fate was in the hands of freshman QB Will Hammond.

What happened to Behren Morton?

It wasn’t shown exactly when Morton injured himself, but after watching the first half, there was a pocket just before halftime where the injury may have occurred.

Morton dropped back to pass third-and-9 with less than a minute left in the second quarter. He was forced out of his spot, advanced into the pocket, but was met by three different TCU defenders. It wasn’t a violent blow at all, but Morton did land on his left shoulder during the play.

The game was not stopped, the game was not stopped in any way. TCU even called a timeout and no replay of the game was shown on the broadcast either.

However, Morton did not return to the field with the starting offense after halftime.

Instead, Morton was replaced by true freshman Hammond, who led the Red Raiders on an impressive scoring drive in his first real action of his freshman season. Hammond completed three of three passes on the drive and threw a 13-yard touchdown to Coy Eakin to move Texas Tech up 10 points.

Hammond returned to the field on Tech’s next appearance when it was announced that Morton would miss the remainder of the action with a left shoulder injury.

Who is Will Hammond?

Hammond is a consensus four-star recruit and top-250 player coming out of Hutto High School in Hutto, Texas. Hammond, a member of the Class of 2024, turned heads this preseason when there was talk he could win time in the starting lineup as a freshman.

After his first extended action of the season, it was clear why.

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During his final season at Hutto, Hammond totaled over 5,000 yards of total offense, with nearly 4,000 passing yards and over 1,000 rushing yards. His 48 touchdowns included 35 passing touchdowns and 19 on the ground. He was given the title of Mr. Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, with his dual-threat ability, it’s clear why groups of Texas Tech faithful wanted to turn to Hammond before the season. He is certainly the future of the program, but now, pending Morton’s status, he might just be the present.

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