Brendan Sorsby has looked like he might be on to something over the last few weeks.
If it’s taking a minute for the redshirt freshman to get into a rhythm, that’s understandable on multiple levels.
Going back to the spring, the Texas native’s reps have been limited as he competed with Tayven Jackson for the starting job.
But over the last three weeks, Sorsby has completed 47-of-81 passes (58 percent) with five touchdowns and one interception. He’s added two rushing scores.
And of course last weekend, the 6-foot-3 Sorsby led the Hoosiers to an upset win over Wisconsin.
What’s starting to click for him?
“I’m just a lot more comfortable, I feel like the game is starting to slow down each and every week,” Sorsby said Thursday to Rhett Lewis on the latest edition of Indiana Football Live. “The more reps you get with the guys, the more comfortable you’re going to be, and I feel like those game reps have helped a lot.”
Those last three games have coincided with the introduction of new offensive coordinator Rod Carey’s decision to go with Sorsby as the full-time starter after he reinstated the competition with Jackson for one game. The pair split drives during the first two weeks of the season, and Jackson initially won the starting job under former OC Walt Bell.
It’s been a bumpy ride, but Sorsby has grown accustomed to staying the course and defying the odds.
Growth has been a big part of Sorsby’s recent journey.
In high school he literally grew into a college prospect. That’s something no one saw coming when he was an underclassman.
“I’ve pretty much played quarterback my whole life, I just wasn’t very good at it,” Sorsby told Lewis. “I was always so small, and junior and senior year (of high school) I finally started to grow.”
How small was he? Sorsby talked about that at a media availability on Monday.
“I was like 5-foot-2, 5-foot-3 (as a high school freshman). If you had asked anyone in that high school, there was no chance I was going anywhere. Luckily I grew, and spent a lot of time in the weight room and throwing with some QB coaches, and here we are.”
Although he grew, Sorsby still wasn’t heavily recruited. An additional challenge came when he was injured during his senior season at Lake Dallas H.S.
But after losing Michael Penix, Jr. to the portal, and 2022 commit Josh Hoover to TCU, Indiana found Sorsby and offered him in January after his senior season. He committed days later.
“He (Sorsby) got hurt his senior year,” IU coach Tom Allen said this week. “I think that gave us a chance to kind of maybe get in on a guy that wasn’t being as highly recruited as he probably should have been. Got that process rolling and got him here on campus with his family, and they loved it here.
“He’s proven to be a guy that we think has got a tremendous future.”
IU originally expected to have Connor Bazelak for another season in 2023. That would have given Sorsby another year to develop. But Bazelak’s transfer opened the door for the competition between Sorsby and Jackson. Truth be told, neither of the redshirt freshmen were fully prepared to take the reins, and that’s why the competition unfolded in the manner it did.
But somehow in two years, Sorsby has gone from no Power Five offers to leading a win over one of the better Power Five programs.
Now he stands tall, and talks like a veteran.
“It’s a fun feeling to win and we’ve got a chance to go do it three more times and then one more in the postseason,” Sorsby said. “We’ve gotta go execute on Saturday.”
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