Cincinnati Bearcats' Brendan Sorsby to Transfer Portal: Could He Be Virginia Tech's Next Starter?

Sorsby has one year of eligibility remaining.

Nov 29, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas; Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby (2) throws the ball during the game against TCU. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech football will need a new starter for the 2026 campaign. Following a rocky 2025 campaign, Kyron Drones has exhausted his four years of eligibility, meaning that the Hokies have two options.

First, they can turn to their existing pool of quarterbacks — William "Pop" Watson III, Garret Rangel, AJ Brand or Kelden Ryan. Or, secondly, they can turn to the transfer portal, the far more likely outcome. Brendan Sorsby is a potential option, having entered the portal two days ago. Here's a look at some of his stats and what I think of the possibility of him ending up with the Hokies.

BREAKING: Cincinnati QB Brendan Sorsby plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, @PeteNakos reports.https://t.co/u4TZffgTIQ pic.twitter.com/2ZxgQvTWWZ

— On3 (@On3sports) December 15, 2025

Some statistics:

Sorsby enters with one year of eligibility following stops at both Indiana and Cincinnati. In 2022, he redshirted his freshman year with the Hoosiers. In 2023, he became the starter and put up a solid campaign, throwing for 1,587 passing yards, 19 total touchdowns (15 passing, four rushing) and five interceptions. One notable statistic was the 17 sacks he took, a statistic that retained the same total when he transferred to Cincinatti for the 2024 campaign.

Sorsby's numbers generally improved across the board from 2023 to 2024, with his passing numbers improving to 2,813 passing yards and 18 touchdowns. His rushing numbers also improved, upgrading from 286 yards in 2023 to 447 in 2024 and his touchdown number more than doubling from four to nine. However, Sorsby again absorbed 17 sacks and threw seven interceptions in 2024, two more than the year prior.

This past season was his best yet, resulting in a 2,800-yard season. Sorsby's 27 passing touchdowns ranked No. 9 in the nation, while his five interceptions was the joint-19th-lowest in the nation. His quarterback rating of 81.4 also ranked 10th-highest in the nation, and second in the Big 12, only behind Utah's Devon Dampier (82.0). In total, Sorsby recorded 36 touchdowns (27 passing, nine rushing) and tallied 3,580 yards when combining passing and rushing yards.

The year wasn't perfect, however. After starting the campaign 7-1, Sorsby's Bearcats stumbled, falling in each of their final four games to finish their regular season 7-5.

In terms of Sorsby's build, like Florida's DJ Lagway, who I talked about earlier this afternoon, he comes in around the height-weight area of Kyron Drones, this past year's starter for the Hokies. Sorsby comes in at 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, nearly identical to Drones' 6-foot-2, 235-pound stature.

My thoughts:

Ultimately, it depends on whether Virginia Tech is comfortable entering a bidding war for Sorsby and whether Sorsby would entertain the Hokies as a realistic option now that. His ball placement is second-to-few, and he is an all-level thrower. Above all, he's dependable and has proven it for multiple years at the Power Four level.

The problem for Virginia Tech could be the money — if it chooses to let it be. SiriusXM's Rick Neuhiesel reported that Sorsby received multiple offers from schools such as Texas Tech, Miami and Indiana that exceed $4 million. As little 12-year-old me (and probably, 20-year-old present day me) would say, that's a lot of moolah.

Then again, Virginia Tech is in a better position than before to allot a quarterback that kind of money. Thanks to the $229 million investment pledged by the Board of Visitors over the next four years, Virginia Tech now has more money to play around with — clearly evidenced by their signing of James Franklin to be the official head coach on Nov. 17.

I'd say that Sorsby is an option on the table, but it seems unlikely that he'll find his way to Blacksburg due to the name recognition of the other schools that are coveting his services for the 2026 campaign. Stranger things have happened, however.