Brendan Sorsby no longer with Texas Tech: What’s next for college football?
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It was the defining story of the 2026 college football offseason and one that could have produced significant ripple effects felt for years.
In late April, Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby entered rehab for a sports gambling addiction. Sorsby, who previously played at Indiana (2022-23) and Cincinnati (2024-25) transferred to Texas Tech in January for his fifth and final season of eligibility. Court documents revealed the quarterback placed at least 40 bets on Indiana football while serving as an active member of the roster in 2022, and in general, made thousands of bets of at least $90,000 over his four years in college — which is strictly forbidden by NCAA rules.
On June 8, Sorsby was granted a temporary injunction by Texas-based judge Ken Curry, which allowed him to participate in the 2026 season albeit with a 2-game suspension. This decision sent shockwaves across the college football world, with multiple conferences and athletic departments expressing their concern over his eligibility.
However, the chapter finally closed Monday night. Pete Thamel of ESPN reported Sorsby’s intent to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft. The NFL Supplemental Draft is usually held in the summer, and the deadline for a player to enter is June 22. No player has been selected in the Supplemental Draft since the Arizona Cardinals picked Jalen Thompson out of Washington State in 2019 after Thompson was declared ineligible for his senior season.
So what happens now in the college football universe?
What’s next for Texas Tech?
Texas Tech president Lawrence Schovanec and athletic director Kirby Hocutt released a joint statement on Monday night, confirming Brendan Sorsby would part ways with Red Raider football:
Perhaps this decision eases the tension building among other athletic departments vs. Texas Tech. Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Nebraska and Georgia sent department-wide memos that their schools’ athletic programs would no longer schedule Texas Tech. Hours before Sorsby entered the NFL Supplemental Draft, Michigan canceled its upcoming Sept. 18 volleyball vs. Texas Tech, per Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports. In all likelihood, these were the first dominoes to fall before more and more universities caved in and did the same.
From a football standpoint, Texas Tech will now turn to Will Hammond or Kirk Francis at quarterback. Hammond started one game for the Red Raiders in 2024 and two games in 2025, stepping up as QB1 after injuries to starter Behren Morton. Last season, Hammond completed 69-of-103 passes for 680 yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions. He also shined from a mobility aspect with 299 rushing yards and five touchdowns on a 7.0 average. However, Hammond tore his ACL in the Oct. 25 contest vs. Oklahoma State, starting a long recovery process for the mobile quarterback.
Hammond’s status for Texas Tech’s opener vs. FCS Abilene Christian on Saturday, Sept. 5 remains up in the air. If Hammond is unable to go, the Red Raiders could turn to Tulsa transfer Kirk Francis at quarterback. Francis started 12 games across three seasons for the Golden Hurricane. Seven of those starts transpired in 2024, where he dished out 1,585 yards, nine touchdowns, and six interceptions. Last fall, a concussion suffered in Week 2 at New Mexico State held him out until October. Francis briefly returned in a 45-7 defeat to Memphis, but Baylor Hayes earned the starting job thereafter.
What’s next for Cincinnati?
Sorsby started all 24 of Cincinnati’s regular season games from 2024 to 2025. These starts transpired after he placed bets on the 2022 Indiana football team. Court documents revealed Cincinnati received an alert regarding Sorsby’s activity on the daily fantasy sports app PrizePicks on Aug. 19, 2024 — 12 days before his Bearcat debut. The quarterback spoke with the university’s compliance department regarding the matter; however, Cincinnati did not receive any alerts of Sorsby’s illegal betting.
Sorsby played his final game with the Bearcats on Nov. 30 and did not participate in their Military Bowl vs. Navy due to his intentions to transfer. Cincinnati is expected to move forward with JC French IV at quarterback for the 2026 season. French spent the past three seasons at Georgia Southern, starting all 26 games for the Eagles in 2024 and 2025. He owns a 15-11 record as a starter with 5,882 career passing yards, 38 passing touchdowns, 20 interceptions, 601 rushing yards, and eight rushing touchdowns.
Cincinnati also landed a starting quarterback from the FCS level in the portal this offseason in Liam O’Brien. As Penn’s starter in 2025, O’Brien totaled 2,376 passing yards, 19 touchdowns, and six interceptions. O’Brien also showcased his mobility in the Ivy League to the tune of 548 rushing yards and seven touchdowns last season, and he’ll search for in-game action in his final season of eligibility.
Cincinnati opens year four of its Big 12 membership and year four of the Scott Satterfield era on Saturday, Sept. 5 against Boston College.
What’s next for the Big 12?
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark released five separate statements on the Brendan Sorsby situation in a 9-day span from Jun. 8 through Jun. 16:
- June 8: “The ramifications of today’s ruling are significant and could have broad impacts across college athletics, creating great concern amongst our membership. I’ve been consulting with our key stakeholders and have scheduled a meeting with our Conference ADs and our Executive Board this week. We are also in touch with Charlie Baker and anticipate the NCAA to appeal the order in the next 24-48 hours. We will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation.”
- June 9: “We had a thoughtful and productive conversation with our athletics directors today as we continue to work through the broader implications of this situation. Many of our athletics directors voiced their opinions. We will continue to have open and honest dialogue amongst the group and until there is something to report, these conversations will remain within the conference.”
- June 11: “Shortly before the start of today’s Big 12 Executive Board meeting, the Conference received a letter from the Texas Attorney General’s office notifying the Conference of potential legal action from Texas Tech if the Conference pursues certain actions under its Bylaws. We are taking time with our legal counsel to understand the concerns of the state and will meet again with the full Board next week. We moved forward with our Executive Board today in preparation for our full Board meeting on Monday. We had a good and informative discussion. Sentiment among the Executive Board was no different from what we heard from the ADs earlier this week. Our discussion with the full Board will determine our course of action, and all options remain on the table.”
- June 15: “Last night, the Big 12 filed a legal complaint asking a federal court to protect the constitutional and contractual rights of the Conference and our member institutions to take actions expressly permitted under our Bylaws. The Big 12 has long spoken out about the dangers of sports wagering by student-athletes and remains committed to protecting the competitive integrity of conference competition. Universities should not field players who have bet on their own team’s games in college athletics. This situation is evolving with pending legal matters and the upcoming start of the football season, and the Conference hopes for a timely resolution of these issues. The Board continues to keep all options on the table.”
- June 16: “It’s been a challenging week for both our Conference and the college athletics landscape. The Big 12 looks forward to moving ahead as 16 strong. We wish Brendan Sorsby success in his future endeavors.”
As expressed in the Jun. 15 statement, the conference pursued legal action against Texas Tech and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The official court filing can be viewed here. In the complaint, the Big 12 condemned unethical and illegal sports gambling and stated that Texas Tech threatened the Big 12 with suit given the prospect of member institutions voting on sanctions for Texas Tech if Sorsby suited up in Big 12 athletic competitions this year. The Big 12 cited its First Amendment rights and its member institutions’ rights to not endorse sports gambling in relation to Sorsby’s eligibility.
Despite Sorsby parting ways with Texas Tech, the case has not been dropped as of the afternoon of Jun. 16. A conference suing one of its member universities can create a fracture in the relationship between the parties, but no conference realignment talks have heated up yet in this ever-evolving college football landscape.
From a 2026 football perspective, Texas Tech aims to repeat as Big 12 champions without its coveted transfer quarterback. With Will Hammond or Kirk Francis likely taking the reins of the offense, the Red Raiders will attempt a feat that has not been accomplished by a Big 12 program since Oklahoma claimed each conference title from 2015 through 2020.
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