Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire on why Brendan Sorsby saga won't change transfer approach

FRISCO, TX – In four years atop the Texas Tech football program and in college athletics’ new NCAA Transfer Portal era, Joey McGuire has marshalled the Red Raiders to gaining 67 commitments from other programs.

The approach has delivered record success on the field for Tech – see 2025’s regular-season undefeated, Big 12 Conference championship and subsequent top-four seed in the College Football Playoff.

See, too, the team’s NFL Draft success – five players selected in the 2026 edition, including star defender David Bailey at a Tech-program record No. 2 pick.

And, now, with the portal era’s most problematic signing – the January addition of former Cincinnati star quarterback Brendan Sorsby – and parting of football ways, McGuire doesn’t see a need to overhaul the Red Raiders’ portal process.

“It’s crazy, because we have done a phenomenal job,” McGuire exclusively told USA TODAY Sports Tuesday, July 7, at Big 12 media days. “If you look at our hit rate out of the portal, especially the last two to three, but the last two … And we do.

“I call a lot of different people. I called Mack Brown on Howard Sampson. I called Gus (Malzahn) on Lee Hunter and different people.”

Specific to Sorsby, now banned from college athletics after he admitted to placing dozens of wagers on his own team at Indiana among his thousands of bets and tens of thousands of dollars, McGuire pointed to much more than a phone call: a preexisting relationship.

“I’ve known Jamey Sorsby since 2003; most of the high school coaches in the state of Texas know Jamey Sorsby, Brendan’s dad,” McGuire said. “And, so, I think we’ve had discussion on how we could [overhaul their portal procedures] because you are talking about a lot of money. You are talking about real money. So, does a certain number (of dollars) trigger more? We already do a great job with medical, all of our background on medical.”

McGuire told USA TODAY Sports he last spoke to Brendan Sorsby “two days ago.”

Even with enhanced measures of background checks and additional phone calls, McGuire dismissed any idea that Texas Tech could have done more to discover Sorsby’s gambling habits. He was signed by the Red Raiders to a multi-million dollar deal as part of the program’s 22-man transfer portal class.

“We can easily say yes, but it’s speed dating,” said McGuire, who told USA TODAY Sports this Texas Tech team expected to still compete for a CFP berth despite unexpected change at quarterback. “I don’t know if we would. I know we wouldn’t have found this.

“Obviously, two other universities (Indiana, Cincinnati) didn’t. And so, I don’t know if we would have found this. But we’ve got to … you are 100%. You owe it to the university and the people around you to do your due diligence.”