Rece Davis hoping for 'a path back' for Brendan Sorsby amid gambling scandal

Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is taking an immediate leave of absence for a gambling addiction, checking into a recreational treatment program. Will he have a path back with the Red Raiders once that stint is complete?

At least one prominent ESPN personality certainly hopes so. That is, with a caveat.

“I am for extending grace in some way while maintaining a really hard line, because this is a really big deal,” ESPN host Rece Davis said on the College GameDay Podcast. “But there are some things that are so far beyond the pale and so dumb that I would be, ‘OK, yeah, you know what, you can’t participate in this anymore. I want you to be a productive member of society, get your life back together, but you can’t be doing this anymore. You’ve forfeited that.'”

Where will that line be for Brendan Sorsby? Davis didn’t specify. That likely depends on how deep down the rabbit hole things go with Sorsby’s gambling problem. And that might take some time to sort through.

“I think it really depends on what level did Brendan Sorsby reach as to whether that reaches the threshold of, ‘You know what, this is too much beyond the pale, you can’t participate in this anymore. We wish you well, go on, get your life in order and participate in football if the NFL will allow it. Fine. But you can’t participate in this anymore,'” Davis said. “I don’t know if it reaches that, maybe it does.”

On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed that Brendan Sorsby placed bets on Indiana while on the Hoosiers’ roster in 2022. That could jeopardize his eligibility, as noted below.

NCAA guidelines from 2023 on sports betting say: “Student-athletes who engage in activities to influence the outcomes of their own games or knowingly provide information to individuals involved in sports betting activities will potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility in all sports. This would also apply to student-athletes who wager on their own games or on other sports at their own schools.”

So there’s a lot that must still be learned. A lot of digging will take place. Still, Davis reiterated his take on Brendan Sorsby.

“I think that generally speaking, I would like to see a path back in most cases,” Davis said. “But it depends on the circumstances.”

On3’s Nick Kosko also contributed to this report.