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State of Play’s TL;DR
- Texas Tech’s head football coach says forcing quarterback Brendan Sorsby to sit out the 2026 season after a gambling case is too harsh of a punishment.
- Coach Joey McGuire says he would have changed the team’s response if he had known the eventual outcome.
Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said he is disappointed quarterback Brendan Sorsby must sit out the 2026 season after a gambling case that ended with Sorsby leaving the program.
Sorsby admitted to gambling, including sports betting on his own team, while at Indiana. He placed thousands of bets over four years. Texas Tech and Sorsby went through several legal battles before agreeing to part ways.
McGuire said the outcome is too severe compared with other suspensions handed out across sports.
“It’s amazing, where, across all levels of football and really athletics, that there are gonna be people playing this year, they’re gonna be suspended for X amount of games, and Brendan Sorsby is gonna have to sit out and wait until 2027 to play at any level.”
He added: “If I would’ve known that, I would’ve said, let’s pivot and do something else because I hate that for him.”
What the case means for Texas Tech’s 2026 season
With Sorsby unavailable, Texas Tech will move forward with Will Hammond as its starting quarterback in 2026.
Hammond has served as the backup for the past two seasons. He has thrown for 1,151 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions at Texas Tech.
The Red Raiders are coming off a College Football Playoff appearance. They open the 2026 season against Abilene Christian on Sept. 5.
Based on reporting by Hunter Hodies for The Big Lead via Yahoo Sports.
