Texas Tech University Athletics
Morton, Wisniewski play in East-West Shrine Bowl Tuesday
January 26, 2026 | Football
Texas Tech’s Behren Morton and Cole Wisniewski will be on the East roster for Tuesday’s 6 p.m. kick in Frisco
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton and safety Cole Wisniewski – two catalysts behind the Red Raiders' run to the College Football Playoff – will play in the East-West Shrine Bowl on Tuesday evening inside Ford Center at The Star in Frisco.
Both Morton and Wisniewski will be on the East team when the 101st edition of the Shrine Bowl kicks off at 6 p.m. CT Tuesday evening on NFL Network. Morton will switch from his usual No. 2 jersey he wore as a Red Raider to No. 10 with the East squad. Wisniewski will remain at No. 5, his same jersey number this past season with the Red Raiders.
The two Red Raiders began preparations for the Shrine Bowl this past Thursday with a slate of practices in front of NFL personnel from all 32 teams. The Shrine Bowl has produced numerous NFL standouts in its storied history, including several Red Raiders such as E.J. Holub (1960), Dave Parks (1963), Zach Thomas (1996), Wes Welker (2003), Louis Vasquez (2008) and Cody Davis (2008), among others.
Texas Tech has had multiple players selected to the Shrine Bowl in each of the past three seasons now as defensive backs Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and Tyler Owens played in the 2024 game, while running back Tahj Brooks and tight end Jalin Conyers took part in last year's game. All four Red Raiders were members of NFL rosters through this past season.
Both Morton and Wisniewski will similarly look to boost their NFL stock after successful seasons leading the Red Raiders to a 12-2 record and the first Big 12 Conference title in school history. The 2026 campaign was Wisniewski's lone season as a Red Raider after transferring from North Dakota State. He finished third on the team with 78 tackles, including 6.0 that went for a loss as one of the nation's highest-rated safeties.
Wisniewski contributed two forced fumbles and recovered one other while adding six pass breakups in the secondary for a Red Raider defense that ranked third nationally in scoring average (11.8 points per game) and total defense (258.3 yards per game). The Red Raiders were the FBS leader for takeaways (32) and rushing defense (68.1 yards allowed per game) thanks in part to Wisniewski, who was the Big 12's second-highest graded safety by Pro Football Focus at 83.7 overall and ranked in the top 20 nationally at his position.
Morton, meanwhile, closed his Red Raider career as one of the winningest quarterbacks in school history after leading Texas Tech to 26 wins over his 36 career starts, the second-highest total behind only Graham Harrell (2006-08) in the last 30 years. Texas Tech was an impressive 23-5 in games Morton started and did not depart due to injury since 2023, which included a 17-3 mark against Big 12 foes.
The Red Raiders had won 13-consecutive games Morton had started dating back to the 2024 season up until their loss to Oregon in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals at the Capital One Orange Bowl. Morton enjoyed a successful senior season leading one of the nation's top offenses, throwing for 2,780 yards and 22 touchdowns to only six interceptions. He finished his tenure 8,989 passing yards and 71 touchdowns over his 45 career games, which ranks fourth all-time in program history behind only the likes of Harrell, Kliff Kingsbury (1999-02) and Patrick Mahomes II (2014-16).
The Shrine Bowl kicks off a packed week of Red Raiders participating in All-Star games as Texas Tech is expected to have five Red Raiders play in the Senior Bowl this Saturday in Mobile, Alabama. All five Red Raiders in wide receivers Reggie Virgil and Caleb Douglas, defensive tackle Lee Hunter, outside linebacker Romello Height and linebacker Jacob Rodriguez are slated to play on the National Team, making Texas Tech one of only five schools with five or more players on one of the two rosters.
Senior Bowl festivities begin with three days of practices starting Tuesday with coverage provided throughout the week on NFL Network. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. Saturday on NFL Network.
