Scott Satterfield has fielded plenty of questions from NFL teams about Brendan Sorsby, especially after his former quarterback transferred to Texas Tech and information about Sorsby’s gambling addiction became well known.
The University of Cincinnati coach expects the queries to increase now that Sorsby has decided not to play for Texas Tech this fall and will instead apply for the NFL supplemental draft.
“There certainly have been scouts and GMs that have reached out just asking questions and more on a personal level, probably more than the football level, with their interest knowing that potentially something like this could happen. I certainly think now that the news is out, over the next few weeks, there’s going to be a lot more inquiries about him and trying to find more about him,” Satterfield said Tuesday. “He’s very talented, has great size, can run, can throw.”
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Sorsby’s decision capped a week of legal drama. A Texas judge had granted Sorsby a temporary injunction allowing him to play for Texas Tech this season despite being declared ineligible by the NCAA for wagering on college sports, including bets made on his own team while he was at Indiana.
Satterfield said every NFL team had already asked him about Sorsby, especially early in the year when it seemed Sorsby might declare for the NFL draft in April. However, Sorsby chose to play his senior season at Texas Tech after signing a name, image and likeness deal.
Sorsby passed for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns with five interceptions last season. He also ran for 580 yards and nine touchdowns. The Bearcats started 7-1 before losing their final four regular-season games. Sorsby did not play in Cincinnati’s 35-13 loss to Navy in the Liberty Bowl.
In 2024, Sorsby completed 64% of his passes for 2,813 yards and 18 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He rushed for 447 yards and nine touchdowns that year.
Cleveland coach Todd Monken hinted at the kinds of research some teams might be conducting when he was asked whether the Browns would be interested in Sorsby.
“I don’t think we’re in a position to want to go down that road. That’s my opinion, that’s not (general manager) Andrew’s (Berry). I think that’s a slippery slope when you go down that, irrespective of talent, right? In terms of the situation he’s himself in, we all know what that is. He put himself in that situation. And we’ve seen in other sports with players who have been banned for life from playing in professional sports.
“From my end of it, it’s kind of a tough angle to go down that road and think that’s going to be your franchise quarterback if he’s ever eligible to even play in the NFL,” Monken said.
If Sorsby had played for Texas Tech this season, it would have created a circus atmosphere on Oct. 24 when the Red Raiders are scheduled to visit Nippert Stadium for Cincinnati’s homecoming game.
Cincinnati has a federal lawsuit pending against Sorsby in Ohio accusing him of breaching his NIL contract following his transfer to Texas Tech. A pretrial conference is scheduled in that case on July 10.
Satterfield said he hopes Sorsby can overcome his problems and bounce back.
“I’m pulling for Brendan in his future endeavors. I think if you just look at the history of the NFL, there are guys that have made mistakes and they still have taken chances on them, so I feel like he will have certainly learned from this and grow, and somebody will give him an opportunity,” Satterfield said.
Reporting by the Associated Press.
