On my list of summertime story ideas pertaining to Texas Tech football, I’d jotted down this one: How much will Brendan Sorsby run? Even though the former Indiana and Cincinnati quarterback is first and foremost a passer, he rushed for 1,303 yards and 22 touchdowns the past three years, and Joey McGuire said Sorsby “runs like a deer.”
That story might be dead, given that now we know the high-profile transfer might not run at all — or even pass — for the Red Raiders in 2026, depending on how the NCAA adjudicates Sorsby’s betting on sports.
The expectation here is that he would face permanent ineligibility, given that sports betting among pro or college athletes crosses a bright red line that should carry zero tolerance. No matter how small the amounts and no matter how cavalierly some Gen Z-type might tell you everybody bets on sports and so what, the NCAA has to take a hardline stance.
You think college sports spark conspiracy theories now? Just wait, if it establishes precedent that sports wagering by athletes is tolerable, punishable by three games, six games, or what have you.
The folks in Indianapolis know that. Or should.
Anyway, assuming Sorsby receives some type of suspension, Texas Tech will spend the summer preparing a different quarterback as No. 1, at least for the start of the season. In the event of a Sorsby suspension, this is Will Hammond’s team as soon as Hammond is medically cleared to play in games coming back from his season-ending knee-ligament tear in October. We’re sticking with what McGuire has consistently said, most recently: that, in the best-case scenario, Hammond will be back in week three.
A report suggesting Hammond will return earlier isn’t necessarily a surprise. We’ve known since March that he was throwing, though not with full movement. In February, McGuire told a Red Raider Club audience this:
“If you ask Will Hammond right now, he’ll tell you he’s going to beat out Sorsby — and he believes it. If you ask Will Hammond if he’s going to be ready for week one, he’s going to tell you he is, and he’s going to believe it.”
McGuire told us in late March that Hammond was ahead of schedule in rehabilitation, but that he won’t turn Hammond loose ahead of schedule game-wise. Rush him, cause a setback, and it could be week 5 or week 6.
Which has sparked debate: Go with Kirk Francis or go with Lloyd Jones III in the interim?
Based on 40 years of watching Texas Tech football practices and what we observed this spring, both in limited weekday viewing periods and in the spring game, Francis was pretty clearly the second choice to Sorsby. That might not sit well with some Tech fans, given that Francis started his college career as a walk-on and Jones as a Texas top-70 recruit. In three years at Tulsa, Francis played in 18 games, throwing for 3,045 yards and 18 touchdowns with 13 interceptions.
Jones played just enough in one game last year at West Virginia to stir some excitement, going in when it was 35-0 and throwing two touchdown passes against a 4-8 team. He dealt with a season-ending knee injury of his own the year before and wasn’t cleared to return until the second half of last season, so he missed a lot of practice time. That matters.
The question going into 2026 isn’t which quarterback might have the brighter future. It’s which is more ready to beat Abilene Christian and Oregon State. McGuire addressed that already.
“Kirk’s played,” McGuire said in March, “so he’s processing stuff at a little bit different level just because he’s played college football.”
Can Jones make up the gap in one preseason camp? Not out of the question, but I wouldn’t predict it.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Here’s what to expect in Texas Tech football QB drama | Williams
Reporting by Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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