{"id":393122,"date":"2026-07-31T06:19:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T06:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/393122\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T06:19:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T06:19:28","slug":"why-will-hammond-is-answer-to-texas-techs-biggest-question-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/393122\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Will Hammond is answer to Texas Tech\u2019s biggest question \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, the Texas Tech football social media team sent a clear message about the biggest question mark surrounding this year\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

With Brendan Sorsby no longer in the picture<\/a> after an offseason saga where the Cincinnati transfer lost his eligibility when the NCAA learned he made thousands of bets and even gambled on his own team, this is Will Hammond\u2019s team now.<\/p>\n

The reins have been handed over to the sophomore quarterback, who had his 2025 season cut short by a torn ACL suffered in late October.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a view quickly backed up by his teammates and his coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guy\u2019s a dog, bro. He\u2019s one of the first ones in the facility and one of the last ones to leave,\u201d preseason All-Big 12 tight end Terrance Carter Jr. said of Hammond at Big 12 media days three weeks ago. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe guy\u2019s a dog, bro. He\u2019s one of the first ones in the facility and one of the last ones to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Texas Tech tight end Terrance Carter Jr., on Will Hammond<\/p>\n

\u201cHis work ethic is insane. He pushes me to go every day. (There\u2019d) be days I don\u2019t even want to catch sometimes, he\u2019d be like, \u2018Nah bro, 11:30, we outside.\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018Got you, bro. I\u2019m there.\u2019 That just shows you how much everybody bought into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this offseason, as the Sorsby drama unfolded<\/a>, questions abounded about when Hammond, coming off a major injury, might be available to play.<\/p>\n

Several times in recent weeks, though, Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire has expressed optimism that Hammond could be ready for the season opener when the Red Raiders host Abilene Christian on Sept. 5.<\/p>\n

Time will tell if that happens, and whether the Red Raiders will start him before the team\u2019s Week 3 Big 12 opener against Houston. If not, Lloyd Jones III or Tulsa transfer Kirk Francis will get the nod. Said McGuire: \u201cI feel good about that (QB) room. We just need to stay on track.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is assured, though, is that this is Hammond\u2019s team \u2014 and he\u2019s not only got the confidence within himself to take on the QB1 mantle, but his teammates and coach have the utmost confidence in him as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond drops back to pass during the first half of a game against Oklahoma State, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Lubbock, Texas. | Chase Seabolt, Associated Press The confidence and preparation to lead a program <\/p>\n

That confidence could be a major catalyst if Texas Tech repeats as conference champions and makes it back to the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill has a super bright future. He\u2019s a fantastic teammate,\u201d senior linebacker Ben Roberts said. \u201cHe knows everybody on the team, and a lot of guys at a lot of places don\u2019t. He prepares himself the way that, like he\u2019s the starter. He\u2019s been doing that since he got to Texas Tech, and he\u2019s got a whole lot of confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

That self-assuredness carries weight with his teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s so confident as a young player, it just breathes throughout the whole team,\u201d said defensive tackle AJ Holmes Jr., the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. \u201cAnd then his work ethic, the work he put in, it\u2019s just bound to have a good outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

His coach echoes those sentiments, while adding it\u2019s not by coincidence or luck \u2014 Hammond is prepared.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat young man, he\u2019s one of the guys \u2014 he\u2019s one of the first two or three people in the building. He\u2019s one of the last ones to leave. Extremely hard worker,” McGuire said of Hammond, who joined Texas Tech as a four-star talent from the Austin area in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got great confidence in himself, and he\u2019s prepared himself to be in the position he\u2019s in. He\u2019s got really an infectious personality that people just gravitate to. I think that\u2019s why there\u2019s a lot of confidence in Will.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Will Hammond (15) runs out of bounds during a game against Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News The mindset of a competitor <\/p>\n

As both his coaches and teammates recall, before Sorsby was brought in, Hammond was already preparing for the time when he would take over the program as the team\u2019s QB1.<\/p>\n

Last season, as the Red Raiders won the Big 12 and earned a spot in the College Football Playoff, they were led by two-year starter Behren Morton. But he was a senior, and there were times when Morton, now with the New England Patriots, was hurt, and that allowed Hammond to get important reps on the field. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe don\u2019t care who you bring in, he\u2019s gonna be the starter. That\u2019s always been his mindset,\u201d Carter said. \u201cLast year … he ended up getting hurt … so we had to go get a QB (out of the transfer portal), but we all knew that was our QB1.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hammond showcased his dual-threat abilities during the 2025 season while playing in eight games and starting two before his injury in a win over Oklahoma State.<\/p>\n

He ended up completing 63.3% of his passes for 680 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions, while also rushing for 299 yards and five touchdowns with a 7.0 yards-per-carry average.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been fortunate, one, that he hasn\u2019t had any setbacks; and, two, if you ask Will Hammond throughout this process, he would tell you he was our starting quarterback and wasn\u2019t going to back away,\u201d McGuire said.<\/p>\n

No game last season showed off his potential more than when Texas Tech went into Rice-Eccles Stadium last September in a top-25 matchup with Utah.<\/p>\n

Morton left the game early in the third quarter after getting injured, and Hammond took control of the hotly contested matchup. In just under a half of work, he completed 13 of 16 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 61 yards on eight carries.<\/p>\n

Behind his stoic leadership, the Red Raiders pulled away late to win 34-10<\/a> after going into halftime up 10-3.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever he checked into that Utah game, he was \u2014 Utah, I feel like most people would be pretty nervous in that situation. Not Will, though,\u201d said Texas Tech center Sheridan Wilson. <\/p>\n

\u201cWill was ready to go. He had that fire in his eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

His impact went beyond that impressive stat line, McGuire said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatch him come off the bench against Utah, and not the game that he played,\u201d the coach said. \u201cI\u2019m 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. We\u2019re fortunate to have him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"BYU cornerback Therrian Alexander III (1) tries to down Texas Tech running back Cameron Dickey (8) during the Big 12 championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News He won\u2019t have to do it himself<\/p>\n

One key aspect to Texas Tech\u2019s confidence that Hammond will come in and have the opportunity to take the Red Raiders to the next level \u2014 getting back to the playoff and winning this time \u2014 is that he is surrounded on offense by several all-conference-caliber players.<\/p>\n

Hammond won\u2019t have to do it all alone.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll be joined in the background by the deepest running back group in the Big 12, and one of the best in the country, with Cameron Dickey, J\u2019koby Williams and Quentin Joyner all back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people forget that we got him, honestly,\u201d Carter said of Joyner, who missed all of last season because of a late fall camp injury. Before that, Joyner was on the Doak Walker Award watch list. \u201cI\u2019m excited to see what he\u2019s gonna do this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dickey and Williams, meanwhile, combined for nearly 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns between them last season.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s plenty of standout pass catchers, too, from Carter (51 receptions for 532 yards and three touchdowns in 2025) to Coy Eakin (48 receptions, 637 yards, six touchdowns) and including guys like former five-star talent Micah Hudson and Alabama State transfer Jalen Jones.<\/p>\n

The latter two are guys that Carter said to watch in this year\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n

Up front, Texas Tech also brings back plenty of experience with guys like Wilson, senior left tackle Howard Sampson and sophomore right tackle Jacob Ponton. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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\u2019ve improved our offensive line. We\u2019ve got a very deep wide receiver room,\u201d McGuire said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, it\u2019s not all on him. He\u2019s going to have a lot of people around him to help him succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire adjusts his headset between plays during the Big 12 championship game against BYU at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week, the Texas Tech football social media team sent a clear message about the biggest question mark…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[24215,27,29,28],"class_list":["post-393122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-news-feed-national","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}