As about every college football fan knows by now, Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby was found to had gambled over $90,000 in sports betting. With all the controversy surrounding his situation, Sorsby decided to leave the Red Raiders and enter the NFL supplemental draft. But where does this leave Texas Tech?
The Red Raiders were going all in on Sorsby after bringing him in from the transfer portal. They also were doing everything they could to have him be able to play in 2026 throughout the whole scandal.
Currently, head coach Joey McGuire is left with one real choice for quarterback. That choice is Will Hammond, who was the backup behind Behren Morton in 2025. Behind Morton, Hammond was able to throw for 680 yards and seven touchdowns. The biggest issue is that Hammond will be coming off an ACL injury which he tore in October.
Hammond was a redshirt sophomore last season, and has been with the Red Raiders the past two seasons. As a result, he has a valuable understanding of the Texas Tech offensive system. He should have more than enough experience with Texas Tech to be able to start with little to no problems, assuming he’s healthy.
Is Texas Tech still a CFP contender?
The answer is simple, while Sorsby leaving is a massive hit, the rest of the roster is still at the same caliber. Texas Tech was able to bring in DE Adam Trick and DL Mateen Ibirogba to restock the defensive line through the transfer portal.
They also were able to return 11 starters from last season’s roster. This means that Texas Tech still has a team that can compete at a high level. It also helps that the Big 12 likely doesn’t have any teams that will pose a major threat to the Red Raiders. They should still be able to rank within the top 12 of the CFP top 25. Arizona State and Houston appear to be the biggest threats on a very manageable 2026 schedule for Texas Tech.
Sorsby’s departure is certainly a setback, but the Texas Tech reloaded and maintained enough of the roster to still be preseason contenders for the 2026 College Football Playoff.
