Texas Tech AD Hocutt on Sorsby situation: 'No perfect answer' - ESPN

Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt issued a lengthy statement Wednesday, continuing to support quarterback Brendan Sorsby's recovery from an admitted gambling addiction while also not ruling out the possibility of him playing this season.

«This situation is hard, it is new, and there is no perfect answer,» Hocutt wrote on X.

On Monday, a judge in Lubbock County, Texas, granted Sorsby a temporary injunction that might clear the transfer quarterback to play for the Big 12 favorites even after the NCAA declared him ineligible for wagering on college sports. The public backlash came fast and furiously, including from within the Big 12, which is considering its own sanctions against Texas Tech.

In his statement, Hocutt said he watched the reaction «with great respect for my colleagues across college athletics» but wanted to «offer a few facts that seem to be getting lost in the noise.» Hocutt confirmed Sorsby will miss the first two games of the 2026 season under the terms of the court ruling, which are at home against Abilene Christian on Sept. 5 and at Oregon State on Sept. 12.

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«What happens after that will depend, in no small part, on how his recovery continues to progress,» Hocutt wrote. «We're taking it one day at a time as he is. We'll evaluate his recovery, compliance and readiness as we go.»

Hocutt said that before the lawsuit was filed, Sorsby committed to a «comprehensive clinical and compliance structure» as a condition of his return to the team.

«Texas Tech is not a party to Brendan's lawsuit,» Hocutt stated. «We did not file it. We did not fund it. A young man in treatment for a clinically diagnosed addiction exercised his legal right to seek a remedy in court, and a judge