With Texas Tech QB1 Brendan Sorsby’s reported ‘gambling’ exploits, Joey McGuire is now left with a glaring hole in his roster to fill. As the NCAA investigates Sorsby’s “thousands of small gambling bets,” he can even lose his sole year of eligibility. And with a single transfer portal window that passed in January, getting reinforcement is out of question. Amid the ongoing controversy, one SEC head coach now offers his advice.

“Sometimes it’s an expensive lesson to learn not to do it. Education. It’s all you can do. It’s there now. And it’s rampant,” Smart said about Joey McGuire’s precarious position. “It’s all over. You can’t watch the TV station without an advertisement for gambling. The opportunity is there. It’s much more prevalent in this day and age; kids are having to grow up with it… You’ve got to educate your players. You’ve got to hope that they listen and learn.”

The NCAA prohibits college athletes from betting on sports sponsored by the collegiate athletics association, be it at the college or professional level. So, athletes who ignore that prohibition and even bet on other teams reportedly face a 50% loss of one season. Additionally, the players also have to undergo mandatory education on the betting rules, and several conditions must be satisfied for reinstatement. But that’s not all.

Players exceeding $800 in wagers on teams of NCAA-sponsored events face a 30% loss of their season. But for Brendan Sorsby, that threshold was likely crossed. The Texas Tech QB was reportedly making “small bets” ever since his 2022 season, when he was a freshman at Indiana. According to reports, he bet on Indiana while redshirting in the season, though he didn’t play in the games for which he made the wagers. That essentially means a loss of a full season.

“The NCAA takes sports betting very seriously and is committed to the protection of student-athlete well-being and the integrity of competition,” the NCAA said in a statement. “The Association works with integrity monitoring services, state regulators, and other stakeholders to conduct appropriate due diligence whenever reports are received. Due to confidentiality rules, the NCAA will not comment on current, pending, or potential investigations.”

For Kirby Smart, though, worrying about a transfer portal player hasn’t been a thing in his UGA stint so far. This year, for instance, the head coach brought in the fewest portal players in the SEC from the January window, as UGA lost the fewest (12) members to the portal in the conference. The UGA head coach prioritizes homegrown players, developing them diligently, and educating them with the values the program cherishes.

“The fact that I don’t have to run around and sign and chase my own players, more or less anybody else’s players, it gives me some calm knowing that we have our players in place,” Smart said. “At the end of the day, you know, that’s what they pay you to do as a coach. All summer, we’re going to work with these guys. We’re going to find things they can do and try to find an advantage we can put them in matchups.”

Sorsby transferred to Cincinnati in 2024 when Curt Cignetti took over Indiana, and was the QB1 for two years at the program. At Texas Tech, the former IU QB arrived after signing a record-setting deal north of $5 million. For now, though, Brendan Sorsby has taken an “indefinite” leave of absence from Texas Tech and has entered a residential treatment program for gambling addiction. That creates problems for Joey McGuire’s 2026 ambitions.

Will Joey McGuire roll the dice with backup QB, Will Hammond?

Texas Tech was one of the most dominant teams in college football last year, winning the Big 12 title and reaching the playoffs. Billionaire donor Cody Campbell fueled it with an unprecedented $30 million NIL injection, and he vowed to support the team in the following seasons. That was why the Red Raiders could bring in 21 transfers, including players like Brendan Sorsby, on multimillion-dollar deals this year. But now McGuire has no option but to await the NCAA’s decision on his QB.

“We love Brendan and support his decision to seek professional help,” Joey McGuire said about his QB1. “Taking this step requires courage, and our primary focus is on him as a person. Our program is behind Brendan as he prioritizes his health.”

Texas Tech’s backup QB, Will Hammond, lacks the veteran experience and passed for just 680 yards last year. McGuire would likely try to develop him and make him QB1 capable. But if that had been the case, why would he have gone to the portal to bring Sorsby? All the head coach can do now is take QBs already present in the portal. Those names include Sam Houston’s Hunter Watson and Coastal Carolina’s Samari Collier. It’s, however, unlikely that McGuire will roll the dice with them. Amid the lingering uncertainty, should the team postpone its 2026 plans to next year?