Joey McGuire: Brendan Sorsby playing in Week 3 'still a stretch' as QB recovers from addiction

Texas Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt released a statement defending his program’s actions in the ongoing Brendan Sorsby saga and outlining the nuance in the situation. Shortly after, on Wednesday afternoon, coach Joey McGuire also spoke about the ordeal.

McGuire was meeting with fans when he was asked by the crowd what, if anything, could still happen to prevent Sorsby from playing this season. He was cautious with his answer.

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The Texas Tech head coach noted that Brendan Sorsby playing in Week 3, after serving a two-game suspension, is “still a stretch,” per Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle. He then added more.

“He’s recovering from an addiction,” McGuire said. “… I’ve sat down with this young man and what he’s going through is serious.”

That sentiment echoes what Hocutt offered in his statement. The Texas Tech athletics director even pointed out he has two sons and has been asking himself what he would do if one of his sons were in Brendan Sorsby’s shoes.

“I understand the frustration,” Hocutt said, aimed at his colleagues across college sports. “This situation is hard, it is new, and there is no perfect answer. The system we’re operating within is binary, but the situation is not. We are open to ongoing conversations about how to best handle these issues as an industry going forward. We will continue to be transparent in our decision-making. Most importantly, we will keep doing what we have always done, put our students first.”

The situation came to a head in a way when Brendan Sorsby was granted an injunction against the NCAA on Monday, making him eligible to play this fall after serving a two-game suspension. Monday’s ruling prevents the NCAA from punishing Sorsby for violating its rules on sports gambling. It opens up questions about the future of the NCAA, which previously rejected his request for reinstatement and appeal.

The NCAA is expected to appeal Monday’s decision, but the timeline could take up to a year. Any other recourse would violate the injunction enjoining the NCAA’s rule of restitution.

So for now, the hot button topic in college sports remains what will happen to Brendan Sorsby and Texas Tech going forward. Some schools have even threatened to boycott playing the Red Raiders in the event Sorsby plays.

On3’s Pete Nakos also contributed to this report.