College football’s coach of the year has given his endorsement to the former college football player of the moment.
Appearing on Thursday’s Rich Eisen Show, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti addressed former Indiana, Cincinnati, and (for a brief time) Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby.
“I know Brendan a little bit,” Cignetti said, via Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot. “He was actually in the program for about a week and a half when I was hired. I think he’s an outstanding quarterback and a great kid. I think he’s going to be a great pro with the proper support system to overcome some of the issues he’s had.”
That last part is critical, as it relates to Sorsby’s upcoming selection in the supplemental draft. He could be drafted by a chronically inept franchise that won’t have a good support system. He could be drafted by an elite organization that will have an ideal plan in place.
In that regard, Sorsby will be at the mercy of the Harry Potter-style sorting hat.
The team that selects Sorsby needs to have the right plan for helping him avoid a relapse in his gambling addiction. And it’ll take much more than simply ensuring the various betting apps aren’t on his phone.
The urge to gamble could linger. It could be a constant struggle for Sorsby. And the temptation could be at its greatest when he’s not playing. His NFL team needs to have an effective strategy for ensuring that, in the quiet moments when he’s left to his own devices, he won’t try to find a way to circumvent the reality that he won’t be able to use his own devices to place bets.
NFL players are allowed to gamble on other sports, as long as they don’t do so in the workplace. For Sorsby, he and his team will need to find a way to stay away from anything and everything related to gambling.
Which won’t be easy to do. Everywhere you look, there’s a gambling ad or a show sponsored by a sportsbook or a talking head touting can’t-lose bets.
Sorsby deserves a full and fair chance to beat his addiction. He could help many others who have fallen victim to the relentless bet! bet! bet! barrage. Above all else, his team will need to be committed to helping him on his journey away from the thing that ended his college football career prematurely — so that it won’t prematurely end his professional career.
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