LUBBOCK, TX — Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton and safety Cole Wisniewski will represent the Red Raiders in the East-West Shrine Bowl on Tuesday night at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco.
The 101st edition of the Shrine Bowl will kick off at 6 p.m. and air on NFL Network. Both Morton and Wisniewski are members of the East roster. Morton will wear No. 10 for the East team after donning No. 2 during his Texas Tech career, while Wisniewski will keep his familiar No. 5 jersey.
The pair began Shrine Bowl preparations last week with practices in front of scouts and executives from all 32 NFL teams. The Shrine Bowl has long served as a showcase for future professional players, including former Texas Tech standouts E.J. Holub, Dave Parks, Zach Thomas, Wes Welker, Louis Vasquez and Cody Davis.
Texas Tech has placed multiple players in the Shrine Bowl in each of the past three seasons. Defensive backs Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and Tyler Owens appeared in the 2024 game, while running back Tahj Brooks and tight end Jalin Conyers participated in last year’s contest. All four spent time on NFL rosters during the most recent season.
Morton and Wisniewski look to continue that trend after helping lead the Red Raiders to a 12-2 record and the first Big 12 Conference championship in program history, along with a berth in the College Football Playoff.
Wisniewski, who transferred from North Dakota State for his lone season at Texas Tech, finished third on the team with 78 tackles, including six tackles for loss, while emerging as one of the nation’s top-rated safeties. He added two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and six pass breakups for a Red Raider defense that ranked third nationally in scoring defense (11.8 points per game) and total defense (258.3 yards per game). Texas Tech also led the FBS in takeaways (32) and rushing defense (68.1 yards allowed per game). Wisniewski earned an 83.7 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, ranking among the top 20 safeties nationally.
Morton concluded his Texas Tech career as one of the winningest quarterbacks in school history, posting 26 wins in 36 career starts. The Red Raiders went 23-5 in games he started and 17-3 against Big 12 opponents. Morton led one of the nation’s most productive offenses during his senior season, throwing for 2,780 yards and 22 touchdowns with six interceptions.
He finished his career with 8,989 passing yards and 71 touchdown passes over 45 games, ranking fourth all-time in program history behind Graham Harrell, Kliff Kingsbury and Patrick Mahomes II.
The Shrine Bowl opens a busy all-star week for Texas Tech, which is expected to send five players to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, on Saturday. Wide receivers Reggie Virgil and Caleb Douglas, defensive tackle Lee Hunter, outside linebacker Romello Height and linebacker Jacob Rodriguez are slated to play for the National Team.
Senior Bowl practices begin Tuesday and will be televised throughout the week on NFL Network. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT Saturday.
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