Texas Tech was right to fight for Brendan Sorsby’s eligibility
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Last college football season, Texas Tech ran roughshod over the rest of the Big 12. They finished the regular season 11-1 and dominated BYU in the Big 12 Championship.
They won their Big 12 games by an average of 27 points per game. In 2026, Texas Tech is still the massive betting favorite to repeat as Big 12 champs. But the mystique that they carried with them last season is completely gone.
A 28-26 victory at home over Houston is a warning sign that the gap between the Red Raiders and the rest of the conference has been closed, and it’s because of the quarterback position.
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Texas Tech’s quarterback situation changed everything
Texas Tech’s starting quarterback for most of last season was Behren Morton, who was a good but not great college quarterback and dealt with his share of injuries in his career. In a few missed games by Morton, Will Hammond drew the starting spot as the backup.
Hammond actually started Tech’s lone regular-season loss to Arizona State, a game in which he did not top 200 passing yards. Hammond’s season also ended with a torn ACL. After the 2025 season ended, Tech appeared to be heading into the offseason with an injured Will Hammond as their projected starter.
It’s no secret that Texas Tech has one of the highest NIL payrolls in the sport, largely thanks to wealthy booster Cody Campbell. They made it a mission to make a splash and land a veteran QB in the portal, and did so with Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby.
On paper, at the time of signing, this seemed like a perfect fit. Sorsby was a Big 12 veteran and pro prospect who may have been a little underrated by the national media, and was going to have an opportunity to compete for a National Championship in Lubbock. What happened next was something that no one saw coming.
Turns out that Brendan Sorsby had a gambling addiction and made numerous bets on his own football team when he was a backup at Indiana. To pretty much everyone in the United States, it became apparent that Sorsby wouldn’t play this season, and the NCAA suspended him indefinitely.
But, knowing what their QB situation was behind him, Cody Campbell and the Texas Tech administration ponied up big bucks for a lawyer and sought a local judge for an injunction to allow Sorsby to play. In a major surprise, the judge granted it, and Sorsby was set to play in 2026. After that, all hell broke loose. Teams threatened to sue or leave the Big 12, and even blacklist Texas Tech from their schedule. To avoid further controversy, Sorsby quietly left Texas Tech.
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Texas Tech’s quarterback problem is now obvious
After three weeks of the 2026 season, it all makes much more sense now. It makes more sense that Texas Tech would put themselves under that national scrutiny and hatred.
Because they knew that they could compete for a championship with Sorsby, and not with Hammond. The run game that was so vaunted last season doesn’t have the same running lanes, with no pass to worry about. Hammond only accounted for one touchdown against Houston.
Tech even brought in Thomas Castellanos, the heavily criticized starter for Florida State last season, to push Hammond or eventually take Hammond’s job. They started Castellanos against Houston, and he threw an interception on the Red Raiders’ first offensive play.
The QB position has been a disaster for Texas Tech so far this season, and it would not have been if they were able to preserve the eligibility of Brendan Sorsby. The national media firestorm that hit Lubbock may have been worth it if Sorsby allowed this team to compete for a National Championship.
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