Texas Tech football fans are excited for the Behren Morton era to truly begin this season. Sure, Morton started eight times last year, but this is the first season where he’s gone through the entire offseason knowing he’s the undisputed starter. Plus, there’s hope that he can finally stay healthy for a full season in 2024.

Now we know that it’s not just Red Raider fans who are paying attention to Morton. That’s because he’s on the preseason watch list for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

The award’s website states: “The Golden Arm Award, given annually by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation to the best senior quarterback, sums up everything positive in college sports. The award recognizes on-field performance, of course, but it goes beyond the number of winning plays and the number of touchdowns. The award recognizes character, citizenship, integrity and those who bring honor to the sport.”

Morton is one of 10 Big 12 quarterbacks on this preseason watch list, a sign of how strong the conference is at the position.

This year, Morton is looking to build on a 2023 season that was challenging at best. After suffering a shoulder injury in the fourth game of last year, he was unable to make a single start despite being 100% healthy.

He threw for 1,757 yards and 15 touchdowns and completed 62.1% of his passes. These numbers are mediocre at best, but it’s important to remember that Morton was unable to practice most weeks to rest his shoulder.

Therefore, it must have been difficult for him to develop any timing with his receivers. The lack of so much practice must also have affected his ability to feel completely confident in executing the entire game plan.

This year, Morton could be one of the nation’s breakout players. With a new and improved roster of talent, he should be able to put up his career-best numbers, assuming he stays healthy.

Of course, Morton’s health has been a concern. In fact, we’ve never seen him play a full game at full health. In addition to his injury last year, he suffered a severe ankle sprain in his first career start in 2022, an injury that would limit his mobility for the rest of the season and cause him to lose his starting spot.

Morton has the talent to succeed at the highest level, but this year he needs to finally show it on Saturdays. Hopefully he can avoid the kind of nagging injuries that have slowed him down. If he can do that, he could become one of the best quarterbacks in the country and a candidate for the Golden Arm Award.