Former Cincinnati Bearcats QB Brendan Sorsby to play at Texas Tech

4 days ago 2

One of the worst-kept secrets of the postseason has been revealed.

Former Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby will play for the Texas Tech Red Raiders next season in a deal that will pay him more than many NFL players if recent reports are accurate. ESPN's Pete Thamel reported the news Sunday night, Jan. 4, after Sorsby had visited Texas Tech and LSU.

After starting 24 straight games for the Cincinnati Bearcats, quarterback Sorsby announced he was going into the transfer portal on Monday, Dec. 15.

He told head coach Scott Satterfield he was going to explore his options, one of which could be the NFL draft. CBS Sports draft analyst Josh Edwards recently projected Sorsby as a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in a mock draft.

The more likely destination was another college team, with reports indicating Sorsby was receiving offers of $4-5 million, according to former college coach Rick Neuheisel on Sirius XM's "Full Ride" radio show. That figure could be even more, as Sorsby quickly became rated the No. 1 available transfer portal quarterback.

Brendan Sorsby celebrates a high point during the Cincinnati Bearcats game with TCU. There weren't many as UC lost 45-23 Nov. 29 in Fort Worth.

Sorsby linked to Texas Tech from beginning

The most amateur detective scanning social media would have told you Sorsby was gravitating toward Lubbock and the Texas Tech Red Raiders, if not already in the fold.

This is not high-level Sherlock Holmes stuff, but some pretty telling developments occurred early in the afternoon on Dec. 15, after Sorsby posted his "goodbye" to UC on X and Instagram.

Texas Tech Red Raiders general manager James Blanchard reposted Sorsby's departure from UC. Given that Blanchard's job is to procure talent for Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire, it would seem peculiar for him to repost a player's availability.

The transfer portal officially opened up Jan. 2, the day of UC's AutoZone Liberty Bowl with Navy. The Red Raiders played in the Capital One Orange Bowl Jan. 1 against Oregon, losing 23-0.

Texas Tech's quarterback, senior Behren Morton, is out of eligibility. On Instagram, Morton responded to Sorsby's portal post with the comment, "Wreck'em," which refers to Texas Tech's battle cry and a line from their fight song.

Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby dueled with Behren Morton at Texas Tech in 2024. Sorsby has been reported to be Morton's replacement at Tech.

Morton's backup quarterback, Will Hammond, a freshman, suffered an ACL injury during the season and is expected to be out through spring practice. So, the Red Raiders were in the market for a quarterback, particularly one who threw for 2,800 yards for 27 touchdowns with just five interceptions with a higher quarterback rating (81.4 to 72.2) than Morton. Plus, Sorsby ran for 580 yards and nine touchdowns, compared to Morton's -81 yards on the ground.

And, it didn't hurt that Sorsby's best passing game of 426 yards for four touchdowns came in Lubbock in 2024 when the Bearcats fell short vs. the Red Raiders 44-41.

Another softball (or volleyball) sized hint

Brendan Sorsby's girlfriend played volleyball at UC until she went into the portal.

Where do you think she landed?

Social media sleuths were quick to point out that right-side hitter Gretchen Sigman also announced her commitment to Texas Tech on Instagram on the same day Sorsby entered the portal.

Texas Tech has deep pockets

Cody Campbell, a former Texas Tech player from the Mike Leach days, is also an oil billionaire who is on the school's Board of Regents and is their biggest athletic donor. Campbell, a former offensive lineman, has paved the way for Texas Tech football with seven Red Raiders making the AP All-Big 12 team, including Defensive Player of the Year Jacob Rodriguez who finished fifth among Heisman Trophy voters.

Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby (2) jumps over Northwestern State Demons cornerback Antonio Hall (2) Sept. 13. UC won the game 70-0 with Sorsby throwing five touchdown passes in the first quarter.

UC coach Scott Satterfield on Sorsby

Satterfield mentioned that Sorsby was one shy of the school record for touchdowns responsible for and how getting players has changed drastically in the last few years. He said you have to be grateful for the time you get with the players.

"These kids are looking at their situations individually and trying to figure out, 'What's the best for me?'" Satterfield said. "That's the world we're living in right now. I appreciate everything that Brendan has done for this program over the last two years."

Could UC have afforded Brendan Sorsby?

After a long pause, Satterfield in mid-December, gave a very transparent take that ended with a blunt answer.

"There's programs out there that certainly can afford players better than we can," he said. "There's a lot of quarterbacks in the portal right now, including guys in our conference. I think when the dust settles and you see where some of these top quarterbacks go, you see who's got the money. Everyone that wants to compete for a national championship that has those kind of funds, that's where those guys end up going. To answer your question, probably not."

The Enquirer has learned that UC made a competitive offer to retain Sorsby. However, with a girlfriend in Lubbock along with some generous funds, Sorsby opted out of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl and into his native Texas.

His parents had been living in the Knoxville, Tennessee area, so from Denton, where Sorsby is from, it's actually a longer drive to Lubbock, Texas (297 miles) than from Cincinnati to the Smokies.