FRISCO, Texas — Since Brendan Sorsby's off-field issues during the spring led him to leave Texas Tech's program, the starting quarterback position for the Red Raiders has been a big question mark.
But Will Hammond, the son of two BYU grads, is ready to fill the void.
Hammond, sophomore from Austin, Texas, is moving forward in the starting quarterback position after suffering from an ACL tear in October.
Coach Joey McGuire said Tuesday during Big 12 media days that Hammond is preparing to lead the Raiders on the offense in the season-opener against Abilene Christian University on Sept. 5.
“He's got great confidence in himself, and he's prepared,” said McGuire. “He’s prepared himself to be in the position he's in.”
McGuire noted that Hammond’s performance in the game against the University of Utah last year helped him prepare for the role of starting quarterback.
During the Sept. 20 matchup at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Hammond, the backup QB, led the Red Raiders in a convincing 34-10 win. Hammond replaced an injured Behren Morton, and threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 61 yards.
“One thing that I could say if you wanted to see what Will Hammond was, watch him come off the bench against Utah,” said McGuire. “And not the game that he played. I'm not talking about the play, but the way the players reacted when he came into that game, the belief and the love they had for him. So we're fortunate to have him.”
Hammond grew up a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and still has many ties to the state of Utah and BYU. During the game at Utah, Hammond said he had over 30 family members at the game.
Both of Hammond’s parents graduated from BYU and he grew up attending the BYU football camps as a youth.
While his ties run deep in Utah, McGuire feels fortunate that Hammond is making an impact at Texas Tech.
“We're so fortunate,” said McGuire. “He's one of the guys. He's one of the first two or three people in the building. He's one of the last ones to leave — extremely hardworking.”
If Texas Tech and BYU end up squaring off again in the Big 12 championship game in December, the Cougars could be facing a quarterback with strong connections to the state of Utah — and to BYU.