Why quarterback Brendan Sorsby left Indiana for UC, Big 12, Satterfield

The University of Cincinnati's new quarterback has had a busy few days making the flip from the Big Ten to the Big 12.

Brendan Sorsby, a 6-3, 230-pound dual-threat for Indiana this season, will suit up next season for head coach Scott Satterfield and the Cincinnati Bearcats. Heading into the weekend, he was traveling to his hometown of Denton, Texas to help his parents move. They had temporarily relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee to drive to his home games in Bloomington, Indiana.

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Now it's back to Texas as their son will play in the Big 12 which features several teams from the Lone Star State as well as neighboring states. As for home games, the Sorsbys will soon know every direct flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Cincinnati.

Why Cincinnati?

"I loved the staff, city and campus," Sorsby said. "It felt like there was a ton of upside. I feel we as a team can win and win right away. I was wanting to be a part of the turnaround."

Sorsby passed for 1,587 yards and 15 touchdowns with only five interceptions as a redshirt freshman at Indiana this fall. He appeared in 10 games for the Hoosiers with seven starts, including a five-touchdown game at Illinois and a three-touchdown passing effort at Penn State in his first career road start.

Not a 'run-first' quarterback

"I pride myself on being a really good thrower of the football," Sorsby said. "At the same time you've got to be able to run it a little bit and I do like to run it. I'm excited to see how Coach Satt uses me. I saw the scheme and watched a little bit of film. I feel like it fit me really well."

Said head coach Scott Satterfield, “We are excited to add Brendan to our quarterback room and our Bearcats family. He’s a tremendous competitor who has played on some big stages in the Big Ten and never flinched. He’s got a great arm, he’s an accurate passer, and he’s a dynamic runner. He adds leadership and experience to our team, and I’m looking forward to coaching him.”

Sorsby is the dual-threat quarterback Satterfield is used to and ran for 286 yards net (477 total) this fall including 151 yards in his final three games. Three times late in the season, he threw for three touchdowns.

In his first career road start, he completed 13-of-19 passes (68.4%) for 269 yards and three touchdowns in Happy Valley vs. the Nittany Lions, including a 90-yard scoring strike and a 69-yard touchdown pass, becoming the first Hoosiers quarterback to throw two 60-yard touchdowns since 1996. Penn State has the nation’s third-best passing defense.

At Illinois, Sorsby completed 22-of-33 attempts for a career-best 289 yards and three scores through the air, with 53 yards and two scores on the ground.

Against former UC coach Luke Fickell, he led Indiana to a 20-14 win over Wisconsin in November, passing for a score and rushing for a touchdown.

ESPN ranked him No. 13 dual-threat out of high school

Limited to seven games as a high school senior due to injury, he threw for 1,271 yards and 14 touchdowns and added 791 yards on the ground with 15 scores for Lake Dallas.

He loves carrying the ball and doesn't mind taking a hit, sometimes avoiding the quarterback slide. That said, don't think Sorsby can't successfully sling the football.

"If I have the option, I'd rather throw it deep or get the ball to my playmakers and let them do the work," he said. "I really just try to extend plays with my legs and let it happen naturally rather than force something. I think it fires up the team when the quarterback lowers his shoulder."

An experienced line waits

Cincinnati's starters all announced their return last week as well as 1,047-yard rusher Corey Kiner. Sorsby has seen them work.

"Watching the film it looked like they did an awesome job of protecting and obviously they did a great job run blocking," Sorsby said. "I'm very excited about those guys up front. That was their first year all together. You give them another year together, it's going to be a fun year."

Other Indiana players in the portal

One of Sorby's targets at Indiana was 6-5, 200-pound Donoven McCulley, a quarterback-turned-receiver who is also in the portal. McCulley was Indiana's top receiver with 48 catches for 644 yards and six touchdowns. Sorsby threw to him for all six scores.

"I've got a little bit of influence, but at the end of the day, all those guys from Indiana are my dudes," Sorsby said. "Of course, I'm going to try and get him here but they have other opportunities as well. They've got to find the best fit for them. If that's Cincinnati and everything works out, then perfect. If not, they're going to do whatever's best for them."

Running back/return specialist Jaylin Lucas is another with a UC offer. As a sophomore, he ran for 275 yards and two touchdowns, caught 34 passes for 247 yards and two scores and had a kickoff return for a 100 yard touchdown against Purdue.

Comparing Nippert to Memorial Stadium

Indiana's football stadium seats 52,929 compared to Nippert's 40,000 but it was about 12,000 below capacity for their last game vs. Michigan State Nov. 18.

"It doesn't matter if you seat more if you don't fill'em up!" Sorsby said.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Indiana transfer Brendan Sorsby is your next dual-threat UC Bearcat