For the first time since Brendan Sorsby announced his intention to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft, his agent Ron Slavin has publicly detailed how the decision came together, the role Texas Tech played in the process, the financial impact on Sorsby and why he believes the national conversation surrounding the quarterback’s gambling case spiraled far beyond reality.
Speaking on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas-Fort Worth, Slavin painted a picture of a player who still wanted to play college football at Texas Tech, but ultimately decided to move forward with the Supplemental Draft amid uncertainty surrounding the legal process and growing outside pressure.
According to Slavin, entering the Supplemental Draft was never about Sorsby wanting to leave Texas Tech.
“Too much pressure from everywhere else on Tech and Brendan still wanted to play at Tech,” Slavin said. “This wasn’t Brendan Sorsby not wanting to play college football. This was Brendan Sorsby being advised by the school that I think it’s time.”
Slavin said the uncertainty surrounding the legal process played a major role in the decision.
“With seven days left until the Supplemental Draft we didn’t know where this thing was going to go. We won in court and we did our job, but for some reason the world melted down and acted like college football was ruined forever.”
Slavin pushes back on public reaction
Throughout the interview, Slavin repeatedly criticized how the situation was portrayed nationally and argued many people commenting on the case lacked a full understanding of the facts.
“How many 18-year-olds make really bad decisions?” Slavin said. “There were never any integrity of the game violations.” He continued. “Everybody loves to have an opinion and I am so tired of getting on TV and seeing people blab their mouth about situations they don’t have any idea what they are talking about.”
According to Slavin, the public perception of the case became disconnected from reality.
“The opinions out there were that you would have thought this kid committed major crimes and did horrible things. The reality is he made some bad decisions as an 18-year-old in his dorm room at Indiana when he wasn’t traveling with the team.”
Slavin also stated there are additional details that have not yet become public.
“There is so much more to the story that will come out later, that Brendan wasn’t doing anything that hurt the integrity of the game.” He further claimed that Sorsby never wagered on college football after becoming an active member of Indiana’s roster and never did so while at Cincinnati.
“He never bet on college football once he got on the active roster at Indiana and he never did at Cincinnati.”
Why more details have not been publicly released
When asked why some of the details surrounding the case have not already emerged publicly, Slavin said legal considerations and other individuals involved have limited what can currently be discussed.
“You have to be careful with some of these things because of everyone who is involved.”
Slavin then shifted focus to Texas Tech, defending the university and coaching staff throughout the process. “The people I feel worse for than Brendan are the people at Texas Tech,” Slavin said.
According to Slavin, had the situation been widely known earlier, Sorsby’s football future may have looked very different. “Brendan should have probably gone in the draft in January if we would have known, but nobody knew.”
Despite the circumstances, Slavin praised Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire.
“The people at Tech have been great. I think Joey McGuire is one of the best human beings on the planet. A lot of head coaches are transactional. He is not.”
Slavin also directed criticism toward Cincinnati.
“Texas Tech did not do anything wrong here and if anyone should be questioned and should be catching heat, it’s Cincinnati because they knew for two years and never said anything and never did anything about it.”
NFL suspension concerns
Slavin said he has not heard any indication that the NFL is considering disciplinary action related to the situation.
“No, there was a precedent set with the Boutte kid from LSU and he didn’t get a suspension from the NFL or sit out at all.”
Why Texas Tech and Sorsby ultimately chose the Supplemental Draft
“When we made the decision to hire Jeffrey Kessler, he is the Harlem Globetrotters. He doesn’t lose and the NCAA is the Washington Generals.”
According to Slavin, winning the initial court battle did not eliminate concerns about what could happen later in the season.
“The thing is, we did not lose. Texas Tech did not want to go through the process where the Big 12 makes up rules as they go, where they say, ‘Oh he can’t play in the Big 12 Championship Game,’ or the CFP comes and says he can’t play in the CFP. So then you would have played the season for nothing.”
With the Supplemental Draft approaching, Slavin said Texas Tech believed moving forward was ultimately the safest path. “With it being seven days before the Supplemental Draft, Tech thought it was in Brendan’s best interest to move forward with that.”
He also noted Sorsby considered the impact uncertainty could have had on the rest of the roster.
“You have a roster with 90 kids, so those 90 kids are affected too. He was like, ‘I don’t want to screw these guys over either. We get through the season and go 12-0, then they pull the rug on us.’”
Was the decision really 50-50?
When asked whether the decision was driven more by Texas Tech or Sorsby’s camp, Slavin gave a brief response.
“I’ll say 50-50 just to make everybody happy.”
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