Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire addressed fans and boosters at the Houston Touchdown Club on Wednesday. He was asked whether anything would prevent quarterback Brendan Sorsby from playing this season.
“I’m glad you asked that question,” McGuire responded before the room burst into laughter.
McGuire then launched into an answer that started with his backup quarterback.
“Will Hammond is coming back from an ACL. He is recovering from an injury. Brendan Sorsby is recovering from an addiction. … I’ve sat down with this young man multiple times and the things he is going through and what he’s been through is serious.”
The comparison between an ACL injury and gambling addiction raised eyebrows. Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt and booster Cody Campbell supported McGuire’s stance at the event.
A district court in Lubbock County granted Sorsby an injunction against the NCAA on Monday. The ruling allows him to play despite facing suspension for gambling violations.
Sorsby is dealing with gambling addiction. He’s expected to take his first snap Friday, Sept. 18 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock.
Sorsby’s Legal Victory Stands Apart
Sorsby won’t be seen as “sticking it to the NCAA” outside the stadium.
Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss and Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia received injunctions against the NCAA in recent years. Both quarterbacks gained extra eligibility without breaking any rules.
Other cases involved different circumstances. Cam Newton faced brief suspension at Auburn in 2010 after allegations his father solicited money from Mississippi State. Johnny Manziel served suspension at Texas A&M in 2013 for accepting money for autographs.
Those situations are now legal under NIL rules.
You can’t compare any of that with Sorsby’s case. Texas Tech is making its best effort to do exactly that.
“The integrity of the sport matters,” Hocutt said in a statement. “So does the integrity of how we treat a 22-year-old who sought help, entered residential treatment, and is working every day toward recovery.”
— Kirby Hocutt (@kirbyhocutt) June 10, 2026
That’s fair. It’s also reasonable that recovery takes more than 35 days.
Calvin Ridley was suspended for the 2022 NFL season after betting on games during the 2021 season. There wasn’t an uproar to give Ridley a shorter suspension. A year was reasonable punishment.
Ridley returned in 2023 and enjoyed success.
Campbell called out Georgia for player arrests under Kirby Smart on social media. McGuire took the comparison even further.
“For some reason, as a society, we’ve been OK with other things that happen and allowing players to play, and this has been the one thing that has united people, that they were against. It’s crazy because it’s not murder, it’s not beating somebody, so there’s a lot of things that we’re working through. None of this is OK.”
The Sorsby case isn’t a capital offense or traffic misdemeanor. Gambling remains the cardinal sin for most college football fans.
Maybe that changes in another generation flooded with betting apps. Common-sense college football fans shouldn’t budge here.
Players can’t bet on games. That’s the rule without wiggle room.
Texas Tech has miscalculated the outrage to this injunction. How much does it increase if Sorsby takes a snap this season?
Sorsby Faces Hostile Reception
ESPN.com reported Sorsby was diagnosed with gambling and anxiety disorders during a 35-day inpatient stay at a rehabilitation facility. The sincerity of Sorsby’s rehab program isn’t questioned.
Playing with teammates and preparing for football season could provide the right support.
Don’t count on that support at Colorado on Oct. 3. Or in the return to Cincinnati on Oct. 24.
Sorsby has an NIL contract with Texas Tech. He’s being sued by Cincinnati over a $1 million exit fee he refused to pay after transferring. That’s where cynicism kicks in.
November trips to Oklahoma State and Baylor won’t be friendly either.
Newton, Manziel and Pavia had huge followings. Most college football fans will root for Chambliss to beat LSU and Lane Kiffin on Sept. 19 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Who’s rooting for Sorsby against Houston the night before that?
Sorsby had a good season with Cincinnati. Does anybody think he’s on the level of those other quarterbacks?
Newton and Manziel won the Heisman Trophy. Chambliss is among front-runners this season. Pavia finished second and faced fallout from his reaction after the ceremony that followed him to the NFL Draft.
This will follow Sorsby the same way. Sorsby will be the guy “who gambled and won.” That won’t be perceived as good when it comes to battling the NCAA.
That’s tremendous pressure for a college athlete with an anxiety disorder.
Maurice Clarett led Ohio State to a national championship in 2002. He was ruled ineligible as a sophomore and tried to challenge NFL anti-trust law with USC receiver Mike Williams.
They lost. Neither player played in 2004.
Williams played six seasons in the NFL. Clarett never played in a regular-season game.
The gambling won’t be a scarlet letter. It will be the tag that follows Sorsby if he fails.
Sorsby should have a chance to play in the NFL. The NFL Supplemental Draft or free agency next season would have been a better setting for a comeback story.
Two games is simply not enough. Everybody knows it.
Now there’s a stand-off with the Big 12. The entire enterprise is on the line heading into the regular season.
Sorsby Expected to Play
From a legal perspective, it looks like he’s going to play. Texas Tech could take the high road and rule Sorsby ineligible while receiving treatment.
Let’s not think that will happen.
Big 12 schools will eventually squash their protests. The Big 12 matchup between Houston and Texas Tech draws big television revenue. That’s what the game is about now.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark knows that. Money is often the arbiter these days.
But at what cost?
If Sorsby can gamble on his team and receive only a two-game punishment, what’s stopping FBS players from taking the under, over or prop bets on themselves? This creates a consequence-free environment that will spawn conspiracy theories about every game.
Why did Sorsby throw that pass? Did he miss that read on third-and-2 on purpose? Did he slide to avoid the under on rushing yards because of a bet?
All of that is fair game. Sorsby better be ready to handle those questions.
No quarterback will ever be under more scrutiny in a single FBS season.
And there’s nothing that’s going to prevent that.
