Tough Guy -- Belief, Physicality Spark Sorsby
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Slide? Are you kidding? Brendan Sorsby has no use for that. Indiana’s quarterback is all about winning, about getting those extra yards, getting those first downs and getting into the end zone, physical punishment be darned.
If he has to lower his shoulder and run over a would-be tackler, well, to quote a Rocky movie from a less politically correct era, let’s be more man than him.
“As weird as it sounds, I like to get hit,” Sorsby says with a smile. “Not everybody does. I like to deliver hits. That’s the fun of football.”
Football fun finds Sorsby as the winner of the Hoosiers quarterback competition with Tayven Jackson in part because of his smash-mouth running style.
“I like the physical aspect of the game,” he says. “I like to lower the shoulder every now and then. Hopefully, it fires a couple of other guys up when they see the quarterback lower his shoulder and deliver a blow to another guy.”
The short answer -- yes.
“It gets us fired up,” running back Josh Henderson says. “Not all quarterbacks are willing to lower their shoulders. He’s not afraid to do that to keep the drives going. That’s a momentum thing. We feed off of that.”
In case the Hoosiers miss it during games, offensive coordinator Rod Carey showcases it during game film review.
“Sorsby had a run where he lowered his shoulder, and a guy got him from behind,” Carey says. “He took a big shot and popped right back up. That shows what he’s willing to do. That can only be a positive.”
Back in middle school in Texas, Sorsby was once a running back. He’s never out-grown that rock-somebody’s-world mindset.
“I always say, I love getting hit the first time in the game,” he says. “After that, it’s not as much fun, but it makes you feel like you’re locked in.”
Locked in has its injury risk. Most quarterbacks learn the art of taking hits in ways that minimizes risk.
Then there’s Sorsby.
“I’m not sure if I’ve completely learned that yet,” he says with a laugh. “Some hits don’t really hurt and I can bounce up quick. Others are like, ‘Oh man, that stung.’”
Teammates, although impressed with Sorsby’s physicality, sometimes suggest caution.
“They get on me -- ‘Hey, maybe you should slide every now and then,’” Sorsby says. “I’m like, ‘Yeah. I agree.’ Some of these hits don’t feel that good, but I do feel it fires guys up.”
Receiver DeQuece Carter is fine with that kind of fire -- to a point.
“We look at it on film. Coach pauses it and says, ‘That’s a guy (Sorsby) who’s doing everything to help us win.’ I respect that.”
Carter smiles.
“He says that first hit gets him going.”
At 6-foot and 200 pounds, Carter won’t follow in his quarterback’s take-the-punishment footsteps, and has a 90-yard touchdown play to validate that approach.
“He can take all the hits he wants,” Carter says.
A pause. Another smile that comes from five years of college football wisdom.
“I don’t want to do any of that.”
Sorsby arrives at Henke Hall showing no signs of the pounding he took two days earlier at Penn State. Specifically, the right shoulder that was banged up during an attack-the-tackler run. He ended up being evaluated on the sidelines, wincing all the while, but says he’s fine now and ready for Saturday’s Wisconsin (5-3) challenge, ready to help start the 2-6 Hoosiers on a four-game winning streak needed for bowl bid opportunity.
“It’s a physical game we play,” he says. “It’s what happens when you play football. I feel good. I’m excited to go this week.”
Burning an excellent Penn State defense with touchdown passes of 90, 69, and 26 yards felt really good. Missing open receivers early on did not.
“The positives were I felt comfortable out there. The negatives were I missed a couple of throws that would have kept some drives going. The first couple of drives, I don’t know if I was a little rattled. You learn from those mistakes. You continue to work on it and get better.”
Sorsby says keys to improvement are spending more time in the film room and getting extra time with receivers before and after practice.
“I want to improve in every aspect.”
Since being named the permanent starter, Sorsby has faced Rutgers and Penn State. Against the Scarlet Knights, he was 15-for-31 for 126 yards and a touchdown, plus rushed for 49 yards and another TD. Against the Nittany Lions, he was 13-for-19 for 269 yards, three touchdowns and his first career interception. He ran 12 times for minus-three yards, which doesn’t reflect the positives of his running.
Carey is a straight-shooter who praises and criticizes with equal honesty. He says Sorsby has played his tail off two weeks in a row, but it’s not good enough.
“There are a lot of things we have to get going on,” Carey says. “There were things we left out there from the quarterback. We have to get him up and going.
“For a young guy, his poise on how to operate the offense in a hostile environment and all the things we were doing as far as pre-snap motions, I was very impressed. But we have to grow up. Play faster. That’s life today. There’s some improvement there.”
Sorsby lacks the lengthy quarterback experience typical of major college starting quarterbacks. He started to play the position in eighth grade, but switched to receiver as a freshman at Lake Dallas High School because, he says, “I forgot how to play quarterback. I couldn’t throw.”
Throwing accuracy returned as a sophomore, but Sorsby was mostly a receiver until midway through his junior season. As a senior limited to seven games because of injury, he threw for 1,271 yards and 14 touchdowns, rushed for 823 yards and 15 TDs. ESPN rated him as the nation’s No. 13 dual-threat quarterback. He also was an all-district baseball player.
IU coaches saw enough to offer him.
“His number of snaps at the quarterback position, even in high school, was not very extensive,” Allen says. “He didn’t have a (quarterback coach) that he had been working with since he was a kid. Some guys have that, especially from Texas.
“We saw a guy with a lot of upside, and a lot of questions to be resolved. What happens when he gets hit in a game? That’s what you didn’t know. How would he respond?”
The Hoosiers know now.
“He needs to continue to stay locked in, focused, keep executing and growing,” Allen says. “There's no doubt that playing is the best way for him to gain that.”
It took midseason for IU coaches to pick a permanent starting quarterback. Neither Sorsby nor Jackson, both redshirt freshmen with limited experience, played well enough last spring or in fall camp or in early games to earn permanent status,
“You can see the dilemma that we were in,” Allen says. “You had two guys that showed signs of doing some good things and also showed signs of being young. Neither one separated himself, which made it challenging to make that decision.”
After giving Sorsby and Jackson starting chances early in the season, coaches settled on Jackson. While his accuracy (60.9 percent) and yardage (914) were promising, Jackson’s five interceptions against two touchdowns was a problem given the importance of ball security.
“We weren’t getting the growth we wanted from that spot,” Allen says. “I felt we needed to do what we did, and now we’re where we are.”
While Sorsby hasn’t matched Jackson’s accuracy (53.7 percent) or yardage (689), he’s thrown six touchdowns against just one interception. He’s also rushed for 127 yards and a TD compared to Jackson’s minus-21 yards and one touchdown.
“I feel good about the progress (Sorsby) is making,” Allen says.
Given the earlier quarterback rotation, does Sorsby worry about keeping his job?
“Tayven will always be on my heels,” he says. “I want him to be like that. Whenever he was the guy, I was pushing him. When I’m the guy, I want him pushing me. He’s done that. He’s been a great teammate.
“I don’t feel I’m looking over my shoulder. He’s helped me a lot.”
Sorsby and Carey meet often to review game and practice film, and to prepare a game plan best suited for Sorsby and IU to attack the next opponent.
“He’ll tell me when I’m wrong and when I’ve done well,” Sorsby says. “He’s blunt about it. He’ll tell you if you messed up and cost the team. He will tell you if you helped the team.”
Sorsby likes that honesty.
“It gives you a better sense of comfort knowing what he expects from you and what I expect from him. What I like. What he likes.”
As far as fundamentals, Sorsby sometimes drops his arm, throwing passes from a variety of angles. While this might work with say, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, Carey is not a fan.
“He’s been working with me on not getting lazy. I drop my elbow a lot. He gets on me about that. He wants me staying active with my feet.”
And then …
“He believes in me. I believe in him.”
The Hoosiers believe in Sorsby and that, in the end, might make all the difference.
“I thought he did a great job against Penn State, with him scrambling and extending drives,” Carter says. “His running ability helps him a lot, but he also has a huge arm. He can make a bunch of throws.”
Henderson saw signs of this in fall camp.
“I told him I love it when he plays free, when he’s having fun. You saw what he’s capable of (against Penn State). He can run and pick up third and long, and he can also sling the ball.
“I’m excited about his future.”