Texas Tech’s next move at QB could define its season after Brendan Sorsby fiasco

Brendan Sorsby will not be the starting quarterback for Texas Tech in 2026. The fight over Sorsby’s eligibility ended earlier this summer, when the quarterback withdrew a pending lawsuit and the NFL decided not to hold a Supplemental Draft, pointing to his admitted violations of the NCAA’s policies against gambling. For now, that means Sorsby will prepare himself for the 2027 NFL Draft.

And the Red Raiders will move to a Plan B at quarterback.

The news comes at a pivotal time for Texas Tech, as the school signed Sorsby to an NIL deal worth in the neighborhood of $5 million, one of the biggest transfer portal deals on record. After winning the Big 12 title game a year ago and reaching the College Football Playoff, the Red Raiders had eyes on a deeper run in the year ahead, with Sorsby at the helm.

So who will that Plan B be?

Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire has a few options.

Tulsa transfer Kirk Francis could be considered the clubhouse leader on paper. He enrolled at Tulsa as a preferred walk-on, and appeared in 18 games, starting 12, at Tulsa over the past three seasons. He threw for six touchdowns during the 2023 season, and nine touchdowns in 2024, and posted a 5-7 record as a starter for the Golden Hurricane.

Over his 18 games, Francis threw for 3,045 yards and 18 touchdowns, against 13 interceptions, with a 58.4% completion percentage.

McGuire has two more options: Redshirt freshman Lloyd Jones III and Will Hammond, last year’s backup quarterback. However, both are coming off significant knee injuries. Jones tore his ACL during his senior season in high school, while Hammond tore his own ACL last October.

Speaking at Big 12 Media Days, McGuire addressed the quarterback room at length.

And pointed to Hammond as perhaps the clubhouse leader, depending on how his right knee recovers over the summer.

“Yeah, really fortunate to have a guy like Will Hammond. If Will doesn’t go down against Oklahoma State, we take a veteran quarterback, but we felt like we had our starting quarterback. I think with the amount of money that’s being placed in these rosters, we felt like if there was any setback injury-wise, we couldn’t take a chance that he’s not going to be ready,” began McGuire.

“We’ve been fortunate, one, that he hasn’t had any setbacks; and, two, if you ask Will Hammond throughout this process, he would tell you he was our starting quarterback and wasn’t going to back away.

“He’s a unique individual. I think the one thing that I could say if you wanted to see what Will Hammond was, watch him come off the bench against Utah. And not the game that he played. I’m not talking about the play, but the way the players reacted when he came into that game, the belief and the love they [have] for him. So we’re fortunate to have him.”

Hammond entered the game against Utah last September in the third quarter, after starting quarterback Behren Morton was ruled out with a concussion following a hit on the opening drive of the third quarter. Hammond led four different scoring drives, throwing for a pair of touchdowns, as Texas Tech pulled away for a 34-10 win.

“He’s a dude, man,” McGuire said of Hammond after the win. “If you walk on that field and you’re wearing the Double T, there’s only one way to play. And I thought he did a great job. We were able to take some one-on-one shots and win enough to really stretch the lead and win the game.”

Both those touchdowns came on vertical routes to the left side of the field. The first came on a fake screen design with a post/wheel combination to the wide side of the field:

And the second, a go route that Hammond put in a perfect spot:

Hammond finished the year having completed 63.3% of his passes for seven touchdowns, and three interceptions, before his injury. He might be Texas Tech’s best bet.

Returning to the Big 12 Media Days, McGuire shared his thoughts on Francis and Jones, before shifting to Hammond again.

“Then Kirk Francis and Lloyd Jones have had really good springs and really good summers. I feel good about that room. We just need to stay on track,” described McGuire.

But then McGuire returned to Hammond, in response to a question about the young quarterback.

“Yeah, man, again, we’re so fortunate. That young man, he’s one of the guys -- he’s one of the first two or three people in the building. He’s one of the last ones to leave. Extremely hard worker.

“He’s got great confidence in himself, and he’s prepared, prepared himself to be in the position he’s in. He’s got really an infectious personality that people just gravitate to. I think that’s why there’s a lot of confidence in Will.

“Then the good thing is I think we have one of the top running back rooms in the country, if not the best. We have one of the top tight end rooms in the country. I think we’ve improved our offensive line. We’ve got a very deep wide receiver room.

“You know, it’s not all on him. He’s going to have a lot of people around him to help him succeed.”

To that point, there is talent around the quarterback position in Lubbock. Running backs Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams are back, after rushing for nearly 2,000 combined yards a season ago along with 25 touchdowns. Three starters return along the offensive line, including tackles Howard Sampson and Jacob Ponton. Wide receiver Coy Eakin is back as well, along with tight end Terrance Carter Jr., and Texas Tech also added transfer pass catchers Kenny Johnson, Donte Lee Jr., and Malcolm Simmons.

But with all the attention paid to Sorsby this off-season, that attention will transfer to whoever is taking the snaps for Texas Tech.

And for whoever that is, the expectation remains the same as it was with Sorsby.

Win the Big 12, and get into the CFP.

“Win the Big 12 Conference,” said McGuire when asked about the expectations in Lubbock back in July. “There’s only been two teams in the history of this conference no matter who has been in the conference -- there’s only been two teams that have won back-to-back Big 12 Championships. That’s OU and Baylor shared, I believe, their conference titles.

“We want to do something that very few teams have been able to do, and that’s to win the Big 12 Championship again. You know, I think it’s really important. I think it’s really important that this conference gets multiple teams in the playoffs.”

Texas Tech may have lost Sorsby this summer.

But they are ready for life without him.