The Brendan Sorsby Saga Ends the Way It Always Should Have
Texas Tech can honor its commitment. Brendan Sorsby can continue his recovery. And college football can finally move on.
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Sorsby Saga Finally Over
The Brendan Sorsby saga is finally over.
At least the college football part of it.
We learned yesterday that Sorsby is entering the NFL Supplemental Draft, taking the question of his eligibility out of college football’s hands and placing it squarely in the hands of Roger Goodell and the NFL.
Texas Tech released a statement, including a lengthy message from Cody Campbell. Sorsby is still going to receive financial support. If Texas Tech wants to honor its commitment to him, that’s their choice. If they want to help him continue his recovery, even better.
Frankly, that’s what should have happened all along.
I’ve said from the beginning that Texas Tech should have supported Brendan Sorsby. They should have helped him. They should have gotten him treatment. They should have stood by him as a person. They did all those things. I commend them.
But they also should have known he couldn’t play football for them.
Those two things were never mutually exclusive.
In the end, common sense prevailed.
Yes, the situation could have been much worse. Sorsby could have taken the field. Texas Tech could have pushed this all the way through the season. They could have knowingly ignored one of the few bright-line rules left in college athletics and dared everyone to stop them.
That would have been a direct shot at the integrity of competition.
Yesterday, I wrote that perhaps Cody Campbell was playing a bigger game. Maybe he was willing to absorb the criticism because he believed this case could force Congress to finally address the chaos surrounding college athletics. Maybe Sorsby had become the catalyst for larger reform.
Today, that theory feels far less likely.
Instead, this increasingly looks like a powerful booster trying to ensure his investment got on the field.
I understand the passion. I admire the commitment. I respect the willingness to fight for what he believes in.
But sometimes passion can create tunnel vision.
At some point, you have to zoom out and see the bigger picture.
The bigger picture was never Texas Tech’s quarterback room. The bigger picture was maintaining a basic standard of fairness in college sports.
Whether Texas Tech takes a step back on the field this season remains to be seen. Maybe Sorsby’s absence matters. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe the young quarterback waiting in the wings gets healthy and plays great. Maybe a year from now we’re all wondering why this became such a massive story in the first place.
My guess is that, with time, Cody Campbell will realize this wasn’t worth it.
The reputational damage. The criticism. The questions about Texas Tech’s priorities. The perception that winning mattered more than accountability.
That’s a heavy price to pay.
Now the story moves to the NFL.
Will Roger Goodell view Sorsby’s gambling history as disqualifying?
Will a team decide he’s worth the risk?
Will someone believe enough in his talent and his recovery to give him an opportunity?
Those are fair questions.
And unlike the college football questions, they aren’t easy to answer.
What is clear is that the college football portion of this saga ended exactly where it should have.
Support the person.
Help the recovery.
Honor your commitments.
But don’t ignore the rules.