Normally this space is devoted to USF athletics, but we're calling an audible today because the news of the day boils down to two words: Brendan Sorsby.
While there is not a connection between the now-former quarterback at Indiana, Cincinnati, and -- lastly and least -- Texas Tech, there is a possible tie between him and the Tampa Bay area.
Sorsby has applied to enter the upcoming NFL supplemental drafr. SI.com floated a scenario where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers might spend a second-round pick on him as a developmental player. Sorsby has the physical tools to play in the NFL, but ...
Yeah, we know what the "but" is.
The young man has a serious problem. He has admitted to placing thousands of bets on college football totaling at least $90,000, and at least 40 of the wagers were on Indiana while he was still a member of the football team. That's next-level dumb.
The NCAA banned him for life, although a hometown judge in Lubbock, Texas -- that's where Texas Tech is located -- said Sorsby could play for the Red Raiders this season after serving a two-game suspension. That's when things got really stupid, as if it wasn't stupid enough already..
Tech supporters, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, rallied to support Sorsby. Paxton sent a letter to the Big 12 Conference threatening legal action if it tried to enforce a ban. Oh, and Paxton wants to be a U.S. senator, running (I presume) on a platform that rules don't matter. That's the kind of thinking we need in Washington.
Anyway, after sustained outrage from all corners of college sports -- including threats by opposing schools to cancel games with Texas Tech if Sorsby played -- the saga ended the only way it could. Sorsby is out and Texas Tech and Paxton look really awful.
That's not just me saying that, by the way.
What a horrible look for Cody Campbell, Ken Paxton, Texas Tech’s President and Board, and the rest of the Texas Tech administration. Not even the Lubbock Walmart has enough towels to wipe all the egg off their faces. https://t.co/iVeVz3Rxoc
— Tom Mars (@TomMarsLaw) June 16, 2026
Meanwhile, would the Buccaneers actually take Sorsby?
I doubt it. They're more concerned with getting Baker Mayfield a contract extension. They don't need the headache and headlines Sorsby would bring.
Even if they don't take him, though, some team will. They'll let him sit behind an established starter while he waits his turn and continues in rehab for his gambling addiction. In that sense, he's no different than someone with any kind of substance issue.
The bigger question is whether he can ever be trusted.
Betting on games involving your own team is what I call the Garden of Eden sin in sports. You can do a lot of bad things and still be eligible to play, but gambling on your own team is the line you can't cross. The NCAA was righteous in banning Sorsby and Texas Tech and its enablers looked like whiny little toads in trying to fight it.
The NFL is a little more lenient though. Players like Alex Karras, Art Schlichter, and received year-long suspensions for gambling issues but were allowed to return.
I'm sure Sorsby's future is being discussed in many NFL front offices today, and he'll probably get his chance. If that happens, I hope he takes advantage of it because if screws up again, he will be finished. Kaput.
But Texas Tech? For an institution of higher learning, you acted like middle school dropouts during this sordid affair. Somebody -- or many bodies -- need to lose their jobs.
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