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The Brendan Sorsby Situation: Scouting Report, Legal Situation & Supplemental Draft Preview
Jun 4, 2026Ethan WoodieNFL Trade Rumors
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Brendan Sorsby was supposed to be the next quarterback at Texas Tech. After making the College Football Playoff but losing their first game to Oregon, the Red Raiders targeted Cincinnati transfer and second-team All-Big 12 member Sorsby to be their next quarterback. Originally a three-star recruit from Texas, Sorsby began his collegiate career at Indiana, redshirting in 2022 before putting together a promising debut season for the Hoosiers. Sorsby transferred to Cincinnati in 2024, earning honorable mention All-Big 12 recognition with 2,813 passing yards and 18 touchdowns to seven interceptions, completing 64.0 percent of his passes and adding 447 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. That became 2,800 passing yards and 27 touchdowns to five interceptions in 2025, completing 61.6 percent of his passes with 580 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, earning the aforementioned second-team All-Big 12 nod. Though he was getting some NFL buzz, he chose to return to college and enter the transfer portal rather than declaring for the draft. All set to lead Texas Tech as one of the top teams in the country coming into the season, Sorsby’s career had a wrench thrown into it with the revelation that he’d placed thousands of individual sports bets during his time at both Indiana and Cincinnati. He wagered on both college and professional sports, including Indiana football while he was on the team. The NCAA has ruled him ineligible going forward, throwing his future into some uncertainty. Sorsby’s Legal Case Sports betting is treated incredibly seriously by the NCAA regardless, but wagering on your own team is considered the cardinal sin of collegiate sports in their eyes and those who do face permanent loss of eligibility. Once reports came out that he’d wagered on his own team (often in the form of prop bets), the NCAA ruled him immediately ineligible and suspended his remaining year of eligibility. Sorsby appealed this ruling and the NCAA once again denied him, so it’s now going through the Lubbock County District Court (Texas Tech’s district). The crux of Sorsby’s defense is that his bets were placed as the result of mental health and addiction issues, something that the NCAA is supposed to support him through as outlined by their own bylaws, and that by denying his eligibility, they are failing this charge. On the other hand, the NCAA is arguing that his challenges did not excuse his gambling, especially on the scale Sorsby is guilty of. In truth, the scope of Sorsby’s betting can’t be understated. Between his time at Indiana and Cincinnati, he placed over $90,000 and has continued to bet on professional sports since transferring to Texas Tech. While at Indiana, he placed over 2,900 individual bets, including over 40 on his own Indiana football team, at least 50 on Indiana men’s basketball, and about 300 on college football games in general. These bets were placed by accounts in his own name as well as friends’ and family members’ names. Sorsby sent over $65,000 to some of his friends over a four-year span to make those wagers. Evidence collected by the NCAA suggests that he did not wager on any Indiana football games after he began seeing the field for the Hoosiers and he did not bet on Cincinnati athletics while he was there. The NCAA’s attorney argues that, if allowed to play in 2026, Sorsby would be the first major American athlete to bet on his own sport and not face consequences. Sorsby’s attorneys argue that he’s facing “irreparable harm” if…