Head coach Joey McGuire doesn't believe Texas Tech's reputation was tarnished after the school backed Brendan Sorsby in his eligibility battle against the NCAA this offseason.
"My president and my (athletic director) ... they went through a lot," McGuire said Tuesday. "There were not a lot of coaches that said, really, a whole lot. There was some funny jabs taken by some coaches, but there wasn't a lot of coaches that just really came out and said a lot of different things. And so from my peers I got a lot of support."
McGuire specifically named Oklahoma State's Eric Morris and Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham as fellow Big 12 coaches who reached out during the height of the Sorsby legal situation.
The NCAA ruled Sorsby ineligible for the 2026 season after he admitted to making thousands of impermissible bets worth at least $90,000 during his time at Texas Tech, Indiana, and Cincinnati. A Texas court granted him a temporary injunction on June 8 that cleared a path for him to play at Texas Tech.
However, Sorsby withdrew his lawsuit against the NCAA on June 15 as the Big 12 sought a court order to enforce its bylaws and impose potential punishment against him.
Meanwhile, schools such as Georgia and Nebraska indicated they would no longer schedule games against Texas Tech after Sorsby was deemed eligible to play.
While the lengthy saga captured attention outside of Texas Tech's Lubbock campus, McGuire insists team unity never suffered.
"One thing that I truly believe in is to bring a team together, shared success is part of it, but shared adversity brings you even closer. The last couple of months, we've gone through some adversity. I do believe if you walked in our building every single day and you walked into the weight room and the workouts or football school, you wouldn't know that anything was going on."
With Sorsby off the team, the Red Raiders are focused on defending their Big 12 title. Texas Tech finished the 2025 campaign with a 12-2 record but suffered a shutout loss to Oregon in the College Football Playoff.
Seven Red Raiders were recognized on the preseason All-Big 12 team on Monday, a huge boost for a squad that lost starters like Jacob Rodriguez, David Bailey, and Lee Hunter.
With Sorsby no longer an option, McGuire is optimistic that quarterback Will Hammond will be ready for the Red Raiders' season opener against Abilene Christian on Sept. 5. Hammond, who's recovering from a torn ACL sustained last season, appears to be making strides, though the Red Raiders have been cautious with the quarterback's recovery.
"Where we're at right now, I could see Will Hammond starting the first game," McGuire said. "We'll leave that up to the doctors and the medical staff, but he's in a really good spot."
