Texas Tech makes late QB addition to 2026 roster days before start of season
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Texas Tech has added yet another twist to its twisted quarterback situation for the 2026 season, just days before the campaign is set to start.
Thomas Castellanos committed to play for the Red Raiders on Wednesday afternoon, he told ESPN. The oft-traveled signal-caller has already played for UCF (2022), Boston College (2023-24) and Florida State (2025), and now Castellanos serves as the possible answer for Texas Tech‘s quarterback dilemma that took over the offseason for the Red Raiders.
With 6,449 career yards passing in his whirlwind collegiate career to go with 48 passing touchdowns and 24 rushing TDs, Castellanos will join the 12th-ranked Red Raiders just a week and a half before they take on Abilene Christian in the 2026 season opener. Castellanos, who went undrafted in the spring, was granted a temporary restraining order last week by a Kentucky judge that would allow him to play a 5th college season.
His presence now calls into question what Texas Tech will do at the position in the wake of the gambling investigation that removed presumed 2026 starter Brendan Sorsby from the roster.
After losing Sorsby from its 2026 roster, Texas Tech turned to Will Hammond, who won the starting job during fall camp, according to Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire.
But with Castellanos now on board and Hammond’s past health issues, including a torn ACL last year, there is now some real drama in Lubbock regarding what McGuire will do at the most important position on the field.
With the days dwindling before the 2026 season opener, Hammond’s perceived starting position that he just won in fall camp could be threatened by a guy who has plenty of starting experience at the Power 4 Conference level.
Texas Tech made a run all the way to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals last season, and the Red Raiders will try to return to the Playoff again in 2026. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about Texas Tech’s chances to get back to the 12-team field when it is announced in December:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
