College Football Powerhouse Forced to Bid High on No. 1 Transfer Portal QB

A Power Four college football program was forced to bid high on the best quarterback in the 2026 NCAA transfer portal cycle.

Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby (2) throws the ball during the second half against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The mayhem created by the 2026 NCAA transfer portal cycle subsided close to the end of January after nonstop movement for two months.

Thousands of players turned to the portal to scour the college football landscape for improved situations heading into the 2026 season. The most publicized group of transfers during the cycle was the group of starting quarterbacks who left Power Four programs in search of lucrative NIL deals.

One of these quarterbacks was former Cincinnati starter Brendan Sorsby, who committed to Texas Tech. He will have one season of eligibility with the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech marks the third college football program Sorsby will play for. The 6-foot-3, 235-pounder started his career at Indiana in 2022, utilizing his redshirt and only appearing in a blowout loss to Penn State.

Sorsby emerged as the starting quarterback for the Hoosiers in 2023. He finished his last season at Indiana with 1,587 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions while rushing for 286 yards and four touchdowns. The Hoosiers parted ways with head coach Tom Allen at the conclusion of the season, and Sorsby entered the portal for the first time.

Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby (2) runs for a first down | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cincinnati landed Sorsby's commitment out of the portal in 2024. In his first season with the Bearcats, Sorsby passed for 2,813 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions and ran for 447 yards and nine touchdowns. The Big 12 listed Sorsby as an Honorable Mention for Offensive Newcomer of the Year at the conclusion of the 2024 regular season.

Sorsby threw for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions while running for 580 yards and nine touchdowns in his final season with the Bearcats, an effort that earned him All-Big 12 Second Team recognition at the end of the regular season. He entered the portal for a second time prior to Cincinnati's trip to the Liberty Bowl.

The deal that Sorsby and Texas Tech agreed upon was among the most expensive in the 2026 portal cycle. Red Raiders booster Cody Campbell discussed the bidding war it won to secure Sorsby's commitment on "Will Cain Country."

“Well, he wasn’t cheap. It’s interesting in the portal, and I’ve been pretty directly involved with now three portal cycles, and there is a supply and demand factor at each position. For instance, this year, there are a lot of receivers in the portal," Campbell said

"So, receivers didn’t bring as much money as even offensive linemen in some cases because there weren’t as many offensive linemen. This year, there were only a few elite quarterbacks that were available. So, if you want one, if you want to compete at the very highest level as Texas Tech does, you have to lean in, and you have to spend the money to get them.”

Sorsby headlined Texas Tech's 2026 portal class as the lone five-star. The Red Raiders pulled in the No. 10 portal class nationally and No. 2 portal class in the Big 12, per 247Sports.