Who is Will Hammond? Meet Texas Tech's new QB1 after Brendan Sorsby saga

Who is Will Hammond? Meet Texas Tech’s new QB1 after Brendan Sorsby saga originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Texas Tech’s quarterback room has taken a lot of turns since the 2025 college football season.

Behran Morton saw the majority of the snaps for the Red Raiders last year, but after falling to Oregon in the College Football Playoff, he headed to the NFL. As one of the biggest spenders in the sport, Texas Tech appeared to have found a high-profile replacement in Brendan Sorsby.

However, Sorsby’s gambling scandal and subsequent exit from TTU shortly after joining left the Red Raiders turning to a more familiar face at quarterback this season.

Here’s what to know about Will Hammond, Texas Tech’s quarterback to open the 2026 season.

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Who is Will Hammond?

Hammond is a junior quarterback at Texas Tech, where he has spent his full collegiate career thus far. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound passer is from Austin, Texas, and has seen the field in both years of his time at the school.

Coming out of Hutto High School, Hammond, who had 35 passing touchdowns and 19 rushing touchdowns as a senior, was a consensus four-star recruit who chose Texas Tech over Auburn, Oregon, Penn State and others.

In 2024, a freshman Hammond appeared in four games, coming in as an injury replacement for Morton against TCU in October. When Morton had to miss the Red Raiders’ appearance in the Liberty Bowl against Arkansas that season, it was Hammond who stepped in as the starter, throwing for 280 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.

Hammond saw far more playing time in 2025, appearing in the tail end of blowout results early in the year. In Week 4, however, Morton went down with an injury, and Hammond entered against Utah and led four scoring drives in a win. Two weeks later, with another Morton injury, Hammond entered again. This time, he was named the starter against Arizona State despite Morton being healthy.

Hammond’s run as the QB1 for Texas Tech didn’t last long, however. In late October against Oklahoma State, he left in the second quarter with a knee injury that was later diagnosed as a torn ACL, ending his season.

Hammond was initially set to back up Sorsby in 2026, but with Sorsby’s quick exit from the program, the Red Raiders will be going back to a passer who has flashed plenty of talent for them.

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Will Hammond stats

Here’s a look at Hammond’s numbers over two seasons in college football.

SeasonGames (Starts)RecordCompletions-AttemptsCompletion %Passing YardsAVGPassing TDsINTsRatingRushing YardsRushing TDs20244 (1)0-135-5761.4%4718.322135.449220258 (2)1-169-10963.3%6806.273131.42995