Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has been the talk of college football after news broke about his gambling addiction on Monday. The Red Raiders announced that their prized quarterback, who was acquired from the Cincinnati Bearcats via the transfer portal, had checked into a residential treatment program to deal with his addiction.
Pete Thamel Pessimistic About Brendan Sorsby’s NCAA Eligibility
During Thursday’s segment of “The Pat McAfee Show,” ESPN analyst Pete Thamel outlined the options available for Sorsby should the NCAA investigation find him to have broken the gambling rules.
“Do they take an uphill fight to try and regain his eligibility, but something would have to change radically, be it an injunction, or rule change for him to get eligible if the NCAA finds everything as it has been reported, or he goes to the supplemental draft,” Thamel said. “My understanding of the supplemental draft is, you have to declare by June 30.
“We haven’t had a supplemental draft the last two years and I don’t believe anybody has been taken in it since 2019. If Brendan Sorsby did go to the supplemental draft, he would certainly be the most prominent player since Josh Gordon. He’s a first-round talent QB, who would have been in the QB2/QB3 conversation.”
According to a report by On3’s Nakos on Wednesday, Sorsby started gambling during his time at Indiana, where he played one game in 2022 before transferring to Cincinnati. The report revealed that the quarterback placed over 10,000 bets dating back four years, sometimes betting over 20 times a day.
NCAA rules state that cumulative stakes of $800 or more could lead to a student-athlete losing up to 30% of one season of eligibility. In addition, a student-athlete could face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility should they be found guilty of gambling on their own games, as Sorsby is alleged to have done on Hoosiers games.
USA Today further reported that the Bearcats were notified of Sorsby’s gambling issues before the start of last season.
Thamel’s prediction echoes ESPN colleague Dan Wetzel’s conclusion about Sorsby’s college football future during an appearance on this week’s “Dan Patrick Show.”
“Generally speaking, I’m going to expect that Brendan Sorsby is not going to play NCAA football again,” Wetzel said. “He might play at the NAIA level, he might go to the NFL.
“It’s a sad story of a kid with a young man with a ton of potential who’s going to be paid $4 or $5 million this year, reportedly to play for Texas Tech. And he gambled it all away using sports betting.”
Sorsby was one of the most highly coveted quarterbacks in the transfer portal, where he was ranked the No. 2 overall prospect in a college football market desperate for veterans under center. Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire usurped LSU coach Lane Kiffin in the Sorsby sweepstakes, forcing the Tigers to opt for former Arizona State star Sam Leavitt.
Last season, Sorsby earned a PFSN College QB Impact score of 88.2 after managing 2,813 passing yards on 64% completion, 18 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions, while adding 447 rushing yards and 9 scores for the Bearcats.
