Brendan Sorsby was a promising addition to Texas Tech this offseason for a Red Raiders program that reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history in the 2025 season. However, his recruitment journey from high school to college wasn’t easy.
Brendan Sorsby Benefited From a Recruiting Twist Involving Josh Hoover
Sorsby’s journey in football has been remarkable, as he stood just 5-foot-3 in his first high school season. He had grown to nearly six feet by his junior season, but he didn’t become a starter until the final four or five games of that year. His senior year brought another setback when he broke his throwing hand, but he still received several FCS scholarship offers.
In an interview with J.D. Pickell on Friday, Sorsby shared one interesting story from his recruitment journey involving current Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover.
“Abilene Christian was actually my first offer the night before my senior night,” Sorsby said (1:05). “We actually get to play them the first game this year which is this is a pretty cool story and then I get to january my senior year and indiana luckily you know Josh Hoover actually decommits from Indiana and goes to TCU which opens up that’s why they get a new offensive coordinator he comes and watches me throw and then ends up offering me.
“So shout out to Josh. We actually have the same agent, but I always talk to him every now and then and give him a hard time, and you know, show some appreciation to him for getting me to where I am today.”
Hoover was a quarterback from the 2022 recruiting class who initially committed to Indiana before backing off that pledge following the firing of offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan. He later committed to TCU after Sonny Dykes was hired as head coach. Hoover committed to Indiana once again for the 2026 season, choosing to play for coach Curt Cignetti in what looked like a full-circle move.
Sorsby signed with Indiana after Hoover’s decommitment and stayed for two seasons. Following the firing of head coach Tom Allen, Sorsby entered the transfer portal in 2023, transferred to Cincinnati for the 2024 season, and became the primary starter immediately.
Sorsby entered the portal in December 2025 and chose Texas Tech, and his recruitment was influenced by outreach from Red Raiders alum Patrick Mahomes. He is now aiming for a big 2026 season in Lubbock.
“I want to be known as a dominant team, but like a team that if we face adversity, like we’re gonna be connected through it and we’re not just gonna fold because of adversity, like we’re a team that’s gonna be in until the end,” Sorsby said.
“And we’re gonna find a way to win ballgames. I want that to be our identity is a winning team and a team that you know It’s not gonna back down like we’re we’re seeking challenges and we’re like, you know We’re trying to go find a way to dominate you like I want that to be our our identity.”
Sorsby finished the 2025 season ranked No. 10 nationally among quarterbacks in the PFSN College Football QB Impact Metric with an 88.2 score.
