Texas Tech’s quarterback plans for 2026 have already taken a sharp turn, and the Red Raiders are back where they’ve been before: trusting Will Hammond.
After Behran Morton handled most of the snaps last season and then headed to the NFL following Texas Tech’s loss to Oregon in the College Football Playoff, the Red Raiders thought they had their next answer in Brendan Sorsby. That didn’t last. Sorsby’s gambling scandal and quick exit from the program forced Texas Tech to pivot again, and now Hammond is the familiar name taking over as QB1.
Hammond is a junior who has spent his entire college career in Lubbock. The Austin native checks in at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, and Texas Tech has already seen enough of him to know what he can do.
He was a consensus four-star recruit out of Hutto High School, where he finished his senior year with 35 passing touchdowns and 19 rushing touchdowns. Auburn, Oregon, Penn State and others were in the mix, but he chose the Red Raiders.
His first real chances came in 2024. As a freshman, Hammond appeared in four games and got thrown into action as an injury replacement for Morton against TCU in October. Later that season, when Morton missed the Liberty Bowl against Arkansas, Hammond got the start and threw for 280 yards and a touchdown while also tossing two interceptions.
The workload jumped in 2025. Early in the season, Hammond mostly showed up in blowouts, but that changed in Week 4 when Morton was injured against Utah.
Hammond stepped in and led four scoring drives in a win. Two weeks later, he was back in the spotlight after another Morton injury, and this time he was named the starter against Arizona State even though Morton was healthy.
That run didn’t last. In late October against Oklahoma State, Hammond went down in the second quarter with a knee injury that was later diagnosed as a torn ACL, ending his season.
Texas Tech had initially lined him up to back up Sorsby in 2026, but with Sorsby now gone, the Red Raiders are returning to a quarterback who has already shown he can handle the job.
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