So, a month ago, we here at Revenge of the Birds were reporting on the NCAA shooting down QB Brendan Sorsby’s request to remain in college one more year. He had spent four years in college at two different programs and had just transferred back into his home state to suit up for Texas Tech.
He then applied for an injunction in court to allow him to play this season despite recently losing his appeal to the NCAA. That hearing was held on June 1, and on Monday, June 8, the judge issued his findings
and ordered a temporary injunction for Sorsby to become eligible for the 2026 season, with a two-game suspension. He is projected as one of the top quarterbacks in the country next season and has an NIL evaluation of $5 million.
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The NCAA filed an appeal on the same day.
The reaction from the sports world on just how little Sorsby was punished for betting over 9,000 times was not good.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips told ESPN the ruling represents a “horrendous pattern.” Florida AD Scott Stricklin said he was “stunned.” TCU coach Sonny Dykes: “How is anyone ever going to trust the outcome of a game again?” Nebraska AD Troy Dannen has instructed his school’s teams are also not allowed to schedule Texas Tech. TCU athletic director Mike Buddie and Kansas State AD Gene Taylor both are leaning the same way.
The Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, stated, “The ramifications of today’s ruling are significant and could have broad impacts across college athletics.” Utah athletic director Mark Harlan said, “We must have a definitive path forward that preserves the most basic tenets of competitive integrity in our industry.”
These Sorsby articles are suddenly stacking up on top of each other. But the only reason we at ROTB are bringing this to the Cardinals fanbase is that there is a possibility that Arizona’s brass may be interested in him as a future roster member. Now, has anyone from the Cardinals front office told us this? Do we suddenly have “a source” who is talking about the team’s needs? Are we on speed dial with new head coach Mike LaFleur?
No, no, and hell no.
Simply put, Sorsby is a very talented quarterback. He is an awesome runner, as LaFleur’s offense does feature a heavy running attack, and Sorsby would add to this aspect. Our media attention doesn’t want to omit him as a possibility just because the Cardinals have four QBs on the roster. Besides, the team has Kedon Slovis who is just 25 years old, and the franchise just drafted a guy in the third round, so why would they need yet another young buck?
And currently, the Cardinals own the #3 slot in each round, which means their competition for Sorsby would only be two other clubs. The Las Vegas Raiders just landed their QB of the future with the #1 overall pick, plus have willy veteran Kirk Cousins. The New York Jets have invested in veteran Geno Smith, plus just drafted Clemson signalcaller Cade Klubnik.
Once upon a time, the San Francisco 49ers had a guy named Joe Montana on their roster and then got Steve Young as a practice partner. Also, keep in mind Brett Favre was a second-round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons and was listed as QB3 and not playing until the Green Bay Packers called and offered a first-round draft pick for him. Gems are found all the time in this league.
Until we hear that the coaching staff has zero interest in Sorsby, he remains on our radar.
Here’s the update:
The judge’s order of the temporary injunction became effective immediately and will continue to be in full force until the final judgment is issued. Because of this, Sorsby will no longer be eligible for the Supplemental Draft.
But hold the phone, the NCAA immediately appealed Monday’s ruling, and in doing so, requested a quick process, called an “accelerated appeal.”
Mark Schofield is a former practicing attorney here at ROTB’s parent company, SB Nation. He translated the NCAA appeal for us laypersons:
“Appeals of these decisions are reviewed on one standard: Abuse of discretion. Judges in temporary injunction cases are given substantial deference in deciding those matters, and to overturn the order in this case, the NCAA must convince the appellate court that Judge Curry abused that discretion, and that the ruling was arbitrary, capricious, or failed to apply the law correctly in reaching the decision.
Texas courts have defined this standard as follows: A trial court abuses its discretion if its decision is ‘arbitrary, unreasonable, and without reference to [any] guiding [rules and] principles’ or is ‘so arbitrary and unreasonable as to amount to a clear and prejudicial error of law.’ See Mercedes-Benz Credit Corp. v. Rhyne, 925 S.W. 2d 664 (Texas 1996) and Walker v. Packer, 827 S.W.2d 833 (Texas 1992).“
Schofield relates that the appeals court, “cannot simply substitute its own judgment for that of the trial court.” Oh, okay.
The part about “the request for an expedited appeal” is very important because if this is overturned, then the portion of the ruling about Sorsby losing his opportunity to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft is vacated, so the league can set that up for its member clubs. The deadline for this is June 22.
This has certainly been a roller coaster, but it appears that the end of the Sorsby saga will conclude in about two weeks. In the meantime, if you happen to run into LaFleur, tell him to give us a ring.
