2026 College Football Thread

[jesmu84]

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/texas-tech-qb-brendan-sorsby-defeats-ncaa-regains-eligibility

Lol

[Pakuni]

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/texas-tech-qb-brendan-sorsby-defeats-ncaa-regains-eligibility

Lol

I suspect (hope?) an appeals court might look less favorably upon his Sorsby's arguments than a retiree who was assigned to hear this case.

[MU82]

Sorsby gives up fight vs NCAA to enter NFL supplemental draft.

He's ... um ... betting on himself.

[The Sultan]

It's going to be interesting to see what happens with him. He has high round talent, but the reputational risk and optics don't look great.

[JWags85]

It's going to be interesting to see what happens with him. He has high round talent, but the reputational risk and optics don't look great.

Are the optics/reputation risk any worse than any of the countless Day 1/2 draft picks with other legal issues?  Not like the NFL gets too hung up on moral failings if someone can ball.

If this was a normal draft and he was borderline late first, what would this drop him to, like a 3rd?

I'm not saying Id be clamoring for my team to grab him, especially if they needed a starting QB like most teams drafting a QB in the early rounds.  But is it that much worse optically than someone like Jalen Carter?

[Pakuni]

Are the optics/reputation risk any worse than any of the countless Day 1/2 draft picks with other legal issues?  Not like the NFL gets too hung up on moral failings if someone can ball.

If this was a normal draft and he was borderline late first, what would this drop him to, like a 3rd?

I'm not saying Id be clamoring for my team to grab him, especially if they needed a starting QB like most teams drafting a QB in the early rounds.  But is it that much worse optically than someone like Jalen Carter?

Yes, it's much worse. In normal society, gambling isn't a greater moral failing than domestic violence or drunk driving. In football, unlike those things, it calls into question the integrity of the game. Nobody's going to question the results of a game/play when the QB has a pot possession arrest on his record or the defensive tackle drove too fast. Everybody's going to question Sorsby every time he throws a bad pick or misses an open receiver.
And let's face it, gambling is a huge driver of the NFL's success, so any appearance of impropriety is bad for the league. If people don't trust the results, they won't gamble on the games. If they don't gamble on the games, they're less likely to watch.

[The Sultan]

Are the optics/reputation risk any worse than any of the countless Day 1/2 draft picks with other legal issues?  Not like the NFL gets too hung up on moral failings if someone can ball.

If this was a normal draft and he was borderline late first, what would this drop him to, like a 3rd?

I'm not saying Id be clamoring for my team to grab him, especially if they needed a starting QB like most teams drafting a QB in the early rounds.  But is it that much worse optically than someone like Jalen Carter?

Yes, I think someone who has a gambling addiction and a history of betting on their own team is worse from an optics point of view. And I think the reaction of the past week or so is a testament to that.

People don't bat an eye when a college player who has a legal issue is playing, but everyone (rightfully) went nuts when he won his eligibility case last week. I think that is likely to carry over to whomever drafts him. They are going to have to deal with a significant PR issue. I'm not saying they won't be able to work through it, but yes, it will be more significant than Jalen Carter.

[Pakuni]

Also, there are probably plenty of NFL execs/owners who remember the name Art Schlichter and how that turned out.

[MU82]

Yep, an NFL team bringing in Sorsby would be taking quite a gamble.