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<\/p>\nThe new Texas Tech quarterback\u2019s talent is obvious. The below clip from Brendan Sorsby\u2019s time at Cincinnati captures the accuracy, touch and anticipation that makes him a potential first-round talent. It doesn\u2019t capture the full picture, however.<\/p>\n
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Before I explain that situation, here\u2019s where the 22-year-old sits in our\u00a02027 QB prospect rankings<\/a>:<\/p>\n That ranker, Nick Baumgardner, gave Sorsby a tier to himself. Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcac \u201cPurely from a talent standpoint, Sorsby probably fits somewhere in the middle of Tier 1 as a potential first-round pick.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s huge but a great athlete at 235 pounds, with plus burst and natural escape skill. He\u2019s a smooth passer on the run, and he has good arm talent and a lot of confidence over the middle. As a player, at times, he might remind you of a bigger Jaxson Dart.<\/p>\n \u201cOff the field, however, teams will have to do serious homework.\u201d<\/p>\n What happened with Brendan Sorsby?<\/p>\n The summary of that homework: Sorsby\u2019s admitted to betting about $90,000 on college and pro sports. It might cost him his career.<\/p>\n The most important part of his ongoing legal battles are two months from the 2022 season, when Sorsby made at least 40 wagers on Indiana football totaling around $800. At the time, he was the Hoosiers\u2019 scout-team quarterback, an 18-year-old redshirt who didn\u2019t compete.<\/p>\n The wagers stopped two weeks before his debut.\u00a0\u201cOnce I became part of the active roster with an opportunity to play, I immediately stopped betting on Indiana,\u201d Sorsby wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, my gambling on other sports did not stop; it escalated and became compulsive. What started small when I was in high school turned into a daily habit of betting on all kinds of sports, including some sports that I didn\u2019t follow and had no interest in like tennis and Romanian soccer. Gambling became an addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n Sorsby, who transferred to Texas Tech this offseason, won a temporary injunction last week that, for now, will allow him to play this season despite the NCAA having permanently banned him.\u00a0You read all that right.<\/p>\n That\u00a0decision<\/a>\u00a0would cost Sorsby just Texas Tech\u2019s first two games, both of which will be against multi-touchdown underdogs. If he plays, many worry that the cost to college sports will be severe. If Sorsby plays, he\u2019ll be the first known athlete in a major sport to admit to gambling on his own team and still be allowed to play, our college football expert Stewart Mandel notes in his\u00a0scathing remarks<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery major American sports league has a rule regulating gambling on sports,\u201d\u00a0wrote the\u00a0NCAA in its opposition response<\/a>, \u201cbecause it goes to the heart of the integrity of the athletic product.\u201d<\/p>\n In response, Texas Tech\u2019s own conference, the Big 12,\u00a0has filed a lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0that attempts to leverage the league\u2019s rules and bar Sorsby.\u00a0For what it\u2019s worth, the NFL\u2019s supplemental draft deadline is next week.<\/p>\n Next: Ranking NFL coaches by current winning percentage<\/p>\n This article is from The Athletic\u2019s NFL newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive it directly in your inbox. It\u2019s free to subscribe. <\/p>\n Current coaches, ranked by winning percentage<\/p>\n Bo Nix was curious. Presumably it was because the Broncos\u2019 sophomore quarterback wanted to see whether his 62-year-old coach, Sean Payton, would stick around for the bulk of Nix\u2019s career. Or, after a\u00a0handful<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0weird<\/a>\u00a0moments, maybe he even hoped for the opposite.<\/p>\n Either way, prior to the Broncos\u2019 Week 14 game in 2025, Nix asked Payton how much longer he plans to coach.\u00a0\u201cShoot, plenty of time. Eight years, nine years, whatever,\u201d Payton recalls saying, having recently\u00a0agreed to a five-year contract<\/a>\u00a0that keeps him in Denver through 2030.<\/p>\n That means more chances for Payton to become\u00a0the first head coach in the Super Bowl era to win championships with two different teams.<\/p>\n With a 32-19 regular-season record and three playoff wins since joining the Broncos in 2023, Payton ranks among the top 10 coaches in winning percentage with their current teams. (And keep in mind he had to help rebuild a team that\u2019d gone 5-12 before his arrival.)<\/p>\n This chart also makes one thing clear: What Andy Reid has done in Kansas City is incredible.\u00a0He is the only active coach to win at least 70 percent of his games across more than two seasons\u00a0\u2014 and he\u2019s done it for 13, after having a winning record across 14 years in Philly.<\/p>\n Combine Reid and Payton with Jim Harbaugh, and the AFC West remains stacked even as first-year coach Klint Kubiak replaces Super Bowl champ Pete Carroll, who failed to win any division games last season.<\/p>\n Fantasy football note \ud83d\udcc8:\u00a0Kubiak\u2019s been experimenting with a\u00a0\u201cfootball robot from heaven,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0moving Las Vegas\u2019 star tight end, Brock Bowers, around during practices. Our Sam Warren writes that while \u201cthe Raiders are still figuring out how best to use Bowers, it\u2019s clear he\u2019ll be a focal point of the offense wherever he lines up.\u201d<\/p>\n Extra Points<\/p>\n \u25b6\ufe0f RIP.\u00a0Aldon Smith died at 36 years old<\/a>. The former 49ers All-Pro, who saw his career derailed for off-field issues, was delivering pizzas to a homeless charity on the morning of his passing. He spoke about his post-career struggles\u00a0in this podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc40 NFL\u2019s most versatile.\u00a0Film expert Ted Nguyen\u00a0ranked the top 10 do-it-all players<\/a>, a list that includes Puka Nacua. \ud83d\udc40<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcd3 Minicamp storylines.\u00a0Eleven teams take the field for mandatory minicamps this week, and Mike Jones shares\u00a0every key storyline<\/a>. Yes, the Falcons have a QB competition between Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udd2c\u00a0Biggest risk for Rams.\u00a0As any \u201cStar Wars\u201d fan knows, even a Death Star typically has a vulnerability. For Sean McVay\u2019s team, that\u00a0weakness is the offensive line<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u25b6\ufe0f\u00a0Thursday\u2019s most-clicked:\u00a0College football\u2019s top quarterbacks, ranked<\/a>. Arch Manning is No. 1, with the controversial Sorsby a bit lower.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udceb Enjoyed this read? Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Athletic\u2019s free NFL newsletter in your inbox. <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ca99e00cb9604faa94b3c0bda668807d-edited-image-1781535366007.jpg\"\/)
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\nThe NCAA is\u00a0appealing the decision<\/a>, in which Judge Ken Curry found that Sorsby \u201cdemonstrated that he will suffer a probable, imminent and irreparable injury\u201d if he cannot play college football this year.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d6f5aecca115408ca4b3b924ed91b04b-edited-image-1781532134119.png\"\/)
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