Cincinnati's Brendan Sorsby dubbed 'best quarterback' to face the Arizona Wildcats

CINCINNATI — Immediately after Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege was dismissed from his assistant role at Bowling Green, he was proactive in finding another college coaching gig. 

Doege interviewed for an offensive coordinator role at a Division II school. He started working before he was hired, monitoring top high school quarterbacks, when he came across Dallas-area product Brendan Sorsby, who's now the starter for Cincinnati, which hosts the Wildcats Saturday morning. 

Sorsby wasn't a highly touted prospect coming out of Lake Dallas High School in 2022, and "nobody really knew about him, because he was a late bloomer," Doege said. 

"At the time, I'm thinking I'm going to take the job, so I started looking at uncommitted quarterbacks and Sorsby doesn't have an offer, because he didn't play his senior year," Doege said. 

Once Doege was hired to be an offensive assistant at USC, "next thing you know, he started popping offers," Doege said of Sorsby.  

"You can see in the limited tape he had in high school, he was kind of a freak, just a late bloomer," added Arizona's offensive playcaller. "Some of those guys just fall through the cracks. ... I think he's stud." 

Doege compared Sorsby's ascension as a college quarterback to Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, who started his career at Washington State. Sorsby played his first two seasons at Indiana before transferring to Cincinnati. 

As Cincinnati's starter since last season, Sorsby has become one of the top playmaking quarterbacks in the Big 12 with 4,877 passing yards, 39 touchdowns and nine interceptions, along with 900 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns.

Sorsby has 6,482 passing yards and 1,168 rushing yards in his career and is one of two Big 12 quarterbacks with at least 6,000 career passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards, along with Kansas star Jalon Daniels. 

Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said the Cincinnati standout "is the best quarterback we have seen so far."

“He’s a clean passer and he’s extremely athletic,” Brennan said. “This is the most team speed we’ve seen.”

Between the 6-3, 235-pound Sorsby and running backs Tawee Walker and Evan Pryor, who’s been nursing an ankle injury, the Bearcats have three top-20 rushers in the Big 12 this season with a combined 1,464 yards, which is more than Arizona’s entire team (1,364).

Cincinnati is tops in the Big 12 in offensive efficiency and is averaging the third-most rushing yards in the conference this season. The Bearcats also lead the Big 12 in yards per carry (6).

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“This year, we've been very efficient in the run game," said Cincinnati head coach Scott Satterfield. "We are one of the most efficient teams in the country running the football. We have to be able to run the football. And that comes in a lot of different ways. It's running at the right time. It's running the quarterback."

With the big-bodied Sorsby leading the way, the Bearcats could take a page out of BYU and Houston's playbooks and run quarterback power against the Wildcats. Arizona, which has the seventh-best rushing defense in the Big 12, surrendered a combined 490 rushing yards against BYU and Houston, including 187 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to quarterbacks Bear Bachmeier (BYU) and Conner Weigman (Houston). 

"We need to run the quarterback, but also try to create some space where our backs can have more room to make people miss," Satterfield said. "We have to be able to mix all that in. We have to run the football better, and control the clock a little more. ... For us, it just really comes down to execution up front and starts with our offensive line. They've had a really good year, but this will be another great challenge for the guys up front.”

To stop mobile quarterbacks, the Wildcats "gotta be assignment sound with everything, because they'll take advantage of it if you don't," said Arizona linebacker Max Harris. 

"Mobile quarterback, non-mobile quarterback, it's about executing and doing our job," Harris added.

Sorsby is the least sacked quarterback in college football, and he also has only two interceptions this season. 

"The thing about him, is when he comes around the corner, his eyes are down the field looking for the second and third option," said Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales. "Before he tucks it and runs it, where he's dangerous, he's looking to beat you with his arm."

Cincinnati's offensive line doesn't "make a ton of mistakes when identifying where pressures are coming from," Gonzales said. 

"The identification from the O-Line and his feel back there, it's like (Sorsby's) got eyes in the back of his head," Gonzales said. "We're going to have to come from different angles and catch him off-guard. It hasn't been easy. ... They do everything and they do it elite."

Gonzales echoed Brennan's praise of Sorsby and said the junior is the "best quarterback we've played" and said he's "similar to (Iowa State's) Rocco Becht, probably more athletic."

"Leadership skills, there's talks about him becoming a first-round pick, which are viable," Gonzales said. "The dude doesn't make very many mistakes. ... He can run and has some moves in the open field and if he has space, he can really hurt you."