Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby grabbed headlines on Monday when the Red Raiders revealed that the Cincinnati transfer was checking into a residential treatment program to deal with a gambling addiction. Sorsby, who was the No. 2 overall prospect in the transfer portal, crowned coach Joey McGuire’s No. 1-ranked portal class.
How College Football Fans Reacted to Brendan Sorsby’s Gambling News
According to a report by On3’s Pete Nakos, since 2022, using a variety of gambling applications, Sorsby placed over 10,000 bets, at times up to 20 a day. During his redshirt season at Indiana, where he played one game, Sorsby placed bets on Hoosiers games.
Rules by the NCAA state that a student-athlete could lose up to 50% of one season of eligibility should they be caught gambling on their own sport. In addition, cumulative bets of more than $800 warranted the loss of 30% of a season of eligibility, and wagers of higher value could lead to permanent ineligibility.
College football fans on X had mixed reactions to the updates about Sorsby’s gambling addiction.
College football analyst Landon Tengwall was not optimistic about Sorsby’s chances of a return, tweeting, “Yea it’s over.”
Despite the glum outlook on his future, sports talk show host Zach Gelb pointed out the NFL route for Sorsby.
“Sad to see. Not the focus now, but we all enjoy a good comeback story. I don’t think he’ll be allowed to play college ball again, but the NFL is still there down the road,” Gelb tweeted.
On3’s Blain Crain put a humorous twist to the Sorsby saga by tweeting a GIF of the renowned Bugs Bunny “That’s all folks” ending.
According to On3, Sorsby has a mammoth $5 million contract with Texas Tech and has three separate contracts with the Red Raiders, including a revenue-sharing agreement with the program, a contract with a multimedia rights company, and an Adidas deal.
Georgia Coach Kirby Smart Weighs In on Brendan Sorsby’s Gambling Scandal
While speaking to reporters at the Regions Tradition Pro-Am golf tournament on Wednesday, Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart revealed how authorities can deal with gambling among student-athletes.
“Education. It’s all you can do,” Smart said. “It’s rampant. It’s all over. You can’t watch the TV station without an advertisement for gambling. The opportunity is there. It’s much more prevalent in this day and age. Kids are having to grow up with it. They also have access to more money to gamble with.”
According to a USA Today report, authorities notified the Bearcats about Sorsby’s gambling issues before the 2025 college football season started. He led the Bearcats to a 7-5 record while tallying 2,800 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, and five interceptions, while adding 580 rushing yards and nine scores to earn a PFSN College QB Impact score of 88.2.
