Texas Tech Remains Big 12 Favorite After Sorsby NFL
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- Brendan Sorsby withdrew his lawsuit against the NCAA and declared for the NFL supplemental draft, ending a three-week saga that made Texas Tech "college football's designated villain."
- Sorsby admitted to placing more than 9,000 sports bets over four years, including at least 40 wagers on his own team's games while at Indiana, and carries a clinically diagnosed gambling addiction; a judge granted his injunction but he was given just a two-game suspension.
- Coach Joey McGuire conceded at Big 12 spring meetings that "If he's not hurt, then we're not talking about this" — acknowledging Texas Tech wouldn't have fought to keep Sorsby had backup Will Hammond not torn his ACL in October.
- Hammond is expected back by Week 3 against Houston; before his injury he completed 69 of 109 passes for 680 yards and seven touchdowns with nearly 300 rushing yards, with Tulsa transfer Kirk Francis set to start the opener.
- Texas Tech returns one of the Big 12's best backfields (Cameron Dickey, J'Koby Williams, Quinten Joyner) behind an offensive line with three returning starters, plus receivers Coy Eakin, Terrance Carter Jr., and Pittsburgh transfer Kenny Johnson who combined for 4,629 yards and 36 touchdowns — the most career receiving production of any FBS team.
- Texas Tech's defense, which allowed just 11.8 points per game last season, added four-star transfers Mateen Ibirogba, Austin Romaine, Adam Trick, and Davin Martin after losing six players to the NFL Draft, giving the Red Raiders more career FBS snaps than any team in the country.
- Cody Campbell, Texas Tech's billionaire booster, is "pouring tens of millions of dollars" into the program, and the Big 12 filed a lawsuit in Dallas federal court while the NCAA appealed the original injunction before Sorsby's camp dropped the case.
Why it matters: Texas Tech projects to lap the Big 12 on pure roster depth — no FBS team has more career receiving production or defensive snaps — and with billionaire booster Cody Campbell funding the operation, the Red Raiders are positioned as near-lock conference favorites regardless of the Sorsby fallout, with Brett Yormark likely handing them the Big 12 trophy in December.
