FRISCO, Texas -- Texas Tech is moving forward with redshirt sophomore Will Hammond as its starting quarterback and is increasingly optimistic that he could be healthy enough to start the Red Raiders' season opener.
Speaking at Big 12 media days Tuesday, Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire told ESPN that his coaching staff will get Hammond ready to start Week 1 against Abilene Christian if he is cleared for all football-related activities by Aug. 21.
Hammond, who is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last October, has been throwing in player-led 7-on-7 drills this summer, and Aug. 21 would represent nine full months since he underwent surgery. Those decisions will be left up to doctors, McGuire said, and he has urged the third-year quarterback to try not to get ahead of schedule.
"Will's in a good spot," McGuire told ESPN. "If we were playing right now, like if we were getting ready for camp, he would be able to do everything. You can get a quarterback ready differently because he's not going to get hit in practice anyway. We feel good about where he's at."
Now that Texas Tech is moving forward without Brendan Sorsby as its starting quarterback for 2026, the conversation around the timeline for Hammond's return has changed. McGuire initially said in the spring that the Red Raiders' Big 12 opener against Houston on Sept. 18 was the target date for Hammond's return.
McGuire said that was a more cautious expectation made with the assumption they would need Hammond ready to back up Sorsby in time for the start of conference play, against a Cougars team coming off a 10-win season that McGuire expects will be undefeated and ranked when the team comes to Lubbock.
McGuire said a decision on who will start will not be made until Hammond is fully cleared, but his new QB1 is making every effort to be back for the season opener.
"I think he could be, I really do," McGuire said. "What I love about Will Hammond is, if this situation wouldn't have happened, he would've told you he's the starting quarterback at Texas Tech if he was sitting in this room, no matter who was in that quarterback room. He's extremely confident and believes in his ability. We're really fortunate to have a guy like that."
No public barbs were traded Tuesday between McGuire and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, who each made their first public comments after the contentious saga this summer over Sorsby's eligibility. That dispute resulted in the conference suing Texas Tech on June 15 and the school parting ways with the transfer quarterback later that day.
"Today is not the time to address that issue," Yormark said Tuesday. "Today is about celebrating the upcoming football season and celebrating our 16 schools."
In one awkward exchange, a Lubbock-based radio host questioned why the Big 12 has fined Texas Tech for its fans throwing tortillas during games and sued the school before it ever played Sorsby in a game, while protecting Oklahoma State's paddle tradition and not going after Cincinnati for playing Sorsby. Yormark asked the reporter to stand up and repeat his question before replying, "I said we're going forward as 16 strong, and that's my answer to your question, but thank you for your question."
Yormark later acknowledged to ESPN that the Sorsby issue was unlike any other he has dealt with among his membership in his nearly four years as Big 12 commissioner. He said it was critical for the conference to address it in the "most appropriate fashion possible."
"I think in general, and this goes back to ever since I've been in this business, you have to make it clear to your key stakeholders that it's never personal," Yormark said. "If people understand that, usually in challenging situations, you can get through them. I'm very confident we're moving forward as 16 strong. I feel really good about where we are as a conference.
"Listen, in life, I often say I've got 16 kids. And when you have 16 kids, it's not going to go perfect all the time. I've got two and it doesn't go perfect all the time. But you move forward, you come together and you move on, and I think we've done that."
Sorsby was ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA in May for placing thousands of impermissible bets on professional and college sports over his four years at Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech totaling an estimated $90,000. Sorsby sued the NCAA in district court and was granted a temporary injunction June 8 that cleared the way for him to play this season after serving a two-game suspension.
The Big 12 filed a lawsuit against Texas Tech and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on June 15, seeking declaratory judgments and injunctive relief affirming the Big 12's authority to enforce its bylaws and sanction Texas Tech if Sorsby played in any conference games. The sanctions potentially could have jeopardized Texas Tech's ability to play in the Big 12 championship game and the College Football Playoff.
Sorsby decided to apply for the NFL's supplemental draft rather than continue to fight for his eligibility, but the NFL responded by declining to hold a supplemental draft this year. Sorsby is now training to enter the 2027 NFL draft.
"It's been tough," McGuire said. "Personally, I hate that my president and my AD, the board and the university went through what it went through. Personally, I hate it for Brendan Sorsby. He's such a good person. I love the kid. He's doing well training here in Dallas and we're here for him throughout the whole deal. I hate it for the team. ... So it was tough, things that we did not see coming. You've got to learn from it, and our team is closer because of it."
Hammond started two games for the Red Raiders last season while starter Behren Morton dealt with injuries and produced 680 passing yards, 299 rushing yards and 12 total touchdowns over eight appearances before suffering his season-ending knee injury in a win over Oklahoma State.
McGuire said Texas Tech would not have signed a transfer starting quarterback this offseason if Hammond hadn't suffered his injury. Sorsby was ESPN's No. 1-ranked transfer in January.
The Red Raiders won their first Big 12 title in 2025 and reached the CFP quarterfinals, losing 23-0 to Oregon in the Orange Bowl. McGuire noted that Oklahoma and Baylor are the only two programs in the league's history to win consecutive conference titles.
Even after a turbulent summer for his program and the loss of Sorsby, McGuire's expectations for the season ahead haven't changed.
Said McGuire: "We want to do something that very few teams have been able to do, and that's to win the Big 12 championship again."