Marshall Hammond reflects on the day as “one of the happiest moments of my life.”
Alongside about 25 family members and friends, he was sitting in the south end zone at Rice-Eccles Stadium last Sept. 20, watching his son’s No. 17 Texas Tech team battle No. 16 Utah in a nationally televised game on Fox.
Will Hammond, a redshirt freshman quarterback, came off the bench in place of injured starter Behren Morton, who was injured on the Red Raiders’ first drive of the second half.
While the Texas Tech offense was forced to punt a couple of times with Hammond at the controls, he ended up shredding Utah’s defense in a 34-10 win over the Utes.
With the Red Raiders clinging to a 13-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Hammond engineered three-straight touchdown drives, including a pair of TD passes. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound gunslinger threw for 169 yards and rushed for 61 more.
“It was so fun to watch him come off the bench and not break stride and absolutely run and throw and outwork Utah’s defense to such a successful degree,” recalled Marshall Hammond, who resides in Austin, Texas. “Will had a couple of runs that were crazy. Countless passes that tore up the defense. It was a massive family affair. It was so fun to watch with the cross-section of my dearest friends and family who enjoy football. It was an absolute highlight of my life to watch the University of Utah go down to my son’s team.”
No doubt many devout BYU fans also enjoyed watching the dismantling of their archrival.
What made it especially gratifying to Marshall Hammond was the fact he grew up not far from Utah’s campus in Holladay, where he attended Olympus High. When he was a junior at Olympus, in 1984, he worked as the photographer for the school newspaper, The Thunderbolt. Marshall stood on the sidelines at the venue then known as Rice Stadium, capturing images of Olympus’ 39-13 thumping of Alta as the Titans clinched their first state football championship.
Last fall, everything came full circle.
“It was absolutely surreal. I don’t know if it was louder that day or louder in 1984,” Marshall Hammond said about the two experiences, separated by 41 years. “I was absolutely losing my mind up in the stands, watching Will. That game was phenomenal.”
Few people knew what Will’s performance meant to the Hammond family, let alone all the Hammonds’ connections to Utah’s archrival, BYU.
Marshall earned both his bachelor’s and MBA degrees from BYU, where he met his wife, Julie, also a BYU graduate.
“We run deep and wide with BYU blood,” he said.
Will’s first quarterback lessons came from none other than legendary, Heisman Trophy-winning former BYU QB Ty Detmer.
Will Hammond grew up longing to play for the Cougars and he shined at BYU summer football camps as a youngster. But he never received an offer from the school.
Suffice it to say, he’d love to get a crack at playing the Cougars at some point in his career.
Last season, Texas Tech played, and beat, BYU twice, including in the Big 12 championship game. For that reason alone, Texas Tech has become one of BYU’s biggest Big 12 rivals.
But Will Hammond didn’t play in either contest last season. A little more than a month after defeating Utah, he suffered a season-ending ACL injury. The Red Raiders and Cougars don’t play in the regular season but they could be on a collision course to meet again in the Big 12 title game in December.
“That’s a likely outcome,” Marshall Hammond said. “It’s already being talked about.”
Detmer has kept a keen eye on Will’s development over the years.
“I know that will probably be motivation for Will when they play the Cougs,” Detmer said. “He’ll be ready for that one.”
Will Hammond has recovered from his knee injury and he is the expected starter going into the 2026 campaign after Texas Tech’s planned starter, Brendan Sorsby, left the school following a gambling controversy.
So how did a quarterback who’s a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and grew up a diehard BYU fan, wind up in Lubbock, Texas?
Detmer’s influence
While Marshall Hammond didn’t play football, he had the size for it, and his sons showed a lot of potential in the sport at a young age.
The Hammonds have five children — three boys and two girls. Will is their fourth child.
Dallin Hammond, their oldest son, played football until eighth grade, and was a talented safety, but he was more suited for cross-country and swimming.
Their second son, Reed, played quarterback at Round Rock High in Austin. Detmer was Reed’s private coach and that’s how the Hammonds got to know the former Cougar star, not long before Detmer was hired by Kalani Sitake as BYU’s offensive coordinator from 2016-17.
“Ty was a great resource,” Marshall Hammond said. “He refined Reed’s throwing and defense-reading.”
Reed is about seven years older than Will, who attended those coaching sessions with Detmer, though he was in grade school.
Sometimes, a summer thunderstorm would force the participants inside to watch film sessions.
“(Will) would sit there and watch and listen and soak it up,” Marshall Hammond said. “He’s been a student of the game for a really long time. Will would sit there on the ground, legs crossed, wrapping his head around everything Ty was saying. He developed a football vocabulary very early on at Ty’s feet.”
Detmer, who’s currently the head coach at American Leadership Academy Gilbert North in Arizona, laughed remembering a young Will Hammond.
“He was just a kid bouncing around. He’d catch balls for his brother. We never really worked on any QB stuff,” Detmer said. “He was probably listening a little bit. He was a little guy then. He was out there just having fun, running around.
“It’s been cool to see his development. He wasn’t scared to be out there in the mix. He was a typical younger brother. He liked being out there. He had fun doing whatever I asked him to do.”
As Will grew up, it became clear that he had the talent, and the drive, to play in college.
During his little league career, Will’s team ran gassers at the end of practice and he’d outpace the entire team, including coaches who were former Division I players.
“People would say to me, ‘Wow, that kid is going to play on Saturdays.’ He just loved it,” Marshall Hammond said. “It’s never been me trying to live out my childhood dream of football stardom through my children. I just sit behind and support it. I’d pay the fees, drive them to practice and make sure they have a fresh football every fall. It’s always been them just running with it.
Detmer has watched Will’s progress as a quarterback from afar, including last year’s victory at Utah.
“It was fun to watch. He just jumped right in there and (Texas Tech) didn’t skip a beat,” Detmer said. “It’s what you saw in high school early on with him.
“Just seeing him play, especially early in his career … he’s a real mature type of kid for his age. That’s the first thing that impresses you. Then he makes all of the throws. He did a great job coming in as needed last year.”
Dreams of playing for the Cougars
As part of Will’s development, the Hammonds paid for him to attend BYU football camps during the summers from the time he was 7 until his junior year of high school.
“There are 1,071 miles between my house and BYU’s campus. That’s a lot of round trips in one minivan, getting him up there,” Marshall Hammond said.
Will didn’t just participate in the camps; there were years when he turned in impressive performances.
He was named “fastest eighth grader” one year. “I’ve got a photo of Will in (LaVell Edwards Stadium) with his medal around his neck,” Marshall Hammond said.
As a sophomore at Hutto High outside Austin, Will beat out a senior for the starting QB job.
As a junior, he attended the BYU camp and was named MVP.
According to Marshall Hammond, Sitake met Will, talked to him and watched his son’s film. Will also spoke with offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick, his father said.
From that point on, according to Marshall Hammond, there was no official communication from BYU.
For Will, playing for BYU would have been “the dream,” Marshall Hammond said: “Will and Reed had extensive BYU football gear. They proudly wore that stuff in middle school and high school. That was what they dreamed of doing.”
The Hammonds figured Will was on BYU’s radar. But Will didn’t receive any offers from BYU.
“That was, initially, shockingly disappointing,” Marshall Hammond said.
During his recruitment, Will ended up with 11 scholarship offers, including Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Auburn, Penn State and, of course, Texas Tech.
In 2023, Will was part of the Elite 11, the premier high school quarterback competition and training program in the country. He was part of a class that included Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Baylor quarterback DJ Lagway.
One of the finalists for the Elite 11 that year was Isaac Wilson, the younger brother of former BYU star Zach Wilson, who was taken No. 2 overall in the 2021 NFL draft. While Isaac Wilson was recruited by the Cougars, he signed with Utah.
In 2024, BYU signed high school quarterback Noah Lugo, from Texas. By the end of the 2024 season, Lugo transferred to UTSA. Another high school signee, Enoch Watson, from Arizona, who was coached by Detmer and former BYU quarterback Max Hall in high school, signed with the Cougars as well. He served a church mission before enrolling and joined the roster during the offseason.
In 2024, Jake Retzlaff was BYU’s starting QB. The Cougars added quarterback depth with Baylor transfer Gerry Bohanon and Treyson Bourguet. Bourguet remains on BYU’s roster.
This season, Bear Bachmeier is entering his second season as the Cougars’ starting QB after turning in a strong freshman campaign.
‘A tough situation’
Detmer understands from experience the difficult position BYU coaches are in when it comes to recruiting.
“BYU obviously has been able to recruit well and get guys in there. Unfortunately, for LDS kids that grow up to be that, there’s one spot a year. You get one shot at it. It’s a crapshoot.”
— Ty Detmer on the challenges of recruiting QBs
“It’s a tough situation, especially at that position, where you’re taking one,” he said. “BYU obviously has been able to recruit well and get guys in there. Unfortunately, for LDS kids that grow up to be that, there’s one spot a year. You get one shot at it. It’s a crapshoot. Until you get a kid there and until you really know what makes them tick and how they operate, you don’t know for sure how guys are going to pan out. There’s no perfect evaluation process for kids coming out of high school.”
The recruiting site On3 ranked Will as a 93-rated four-star quarterback, the No. 161 overall player in the 2024 class. He was listed as the No. 12 overall quarterback and the No. 26 player in the state of Texas.
Will began his career at Texas Tech in January 2024. That season, he played in four games with one start in the Liberty Bowl against Arkansas.
Marshall Hammond said his son handled the recruiting process with grace and maturity.
“He processed it just fine,” the father said. “My guidance to him was that he should go where he’s most wanted. He should go to the program that does the best job of building a relationship with him. He should go to the program that invests in their relationship with him.
“It was easy to rule out BYU based on those criteria, despite his abiding interest in going. I had made the case to him that BYU was the best place that was a combination of academics, athletics and the spiritual. ...
“Laying that truth up against the competing truth of, you should go where you’re most wanted, the prospect of walking on at BYU versus being courted and recruited by Texas Tech, who sent coaches down at every NCAA-permitted opportunity to observe him and meet with him and talk to his coach and talk to us and come to dinner at our house,” he continued. “It was easy to say, they didn’t really want me. These other places want me. It was pretty easy to choose Texas Tech after the great job they did recruiting him and developing that relationship. They did an outstanding job.”
Detmer said in the recruiting process, things work themselves out, on both sides. A lot of Latter-day Saint quarterbacks dream of playing at BYU, for the chance to represent their faith, and to continue the long-standing heritage of star-studded, record-breaking, All-American quarterbacks the school has produced, like Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco and Detmer.
“(Will) fell into a great situation. He’s making the most of it. You never know what happens down the road,” Detmer said. “Guys come and go. He’s going to get his opportunity this year. It’s a hard thing finding that one guy that fits. You’ve got to pick one guy and go on it. It’s a hard thing for coaches at BYU, speaking from experience.”
As it turned out, Texas Tech is the school where his son belongs, Marshall Hammond said.
“His development at Texas Tech is different than it could have been at BYU. It’s a fantastic place for him. I’m enjoying having him six hours away by car instead of six hours away by plane, trains and automobile trying to get to Provo. It’s easy to get up to Lubbock.”
Will Hammond has assimilated into the Texas Tech culture and he also enjoys being heavily involved in the Latter-day Saint community on campus, including missionary work.
“He gets to the temple regularly (in Lubbock),” Marshall Hammond said. “Will’s enjoying the (Young Single Adult) ward on campus.”
An ACL injury … and the Sorsby situation
Weeks after the win at Utah, Texas Tech was hosting Oklahoma State.
The Hammonds attended the game, as usual, sitting in their seats at the 50-yard line, below the bowl.
In the second quarter, Will, making his second start of the season in place of Morton, threw a touchdown pass before sustaining a noncontact injury during a run.
When Will went down, Marshall immediately thought he had landed awkwardly. He thought that maybe he had sprained his ankle.
Eventually, Will texted his dad, letting him know that it was a knee injury. It was his ACL. After the game, the family met Will by the office of the team trainer.
“Will was pretty somber,” Marshall Hammond said. “He walked with the stride of a 70-year-old man. He walked under his own power, with no crutches.”
Then they met with the team doctor, who informed Will he was facing a long road to recovery — six to nine months before he could run again.
Former Texas Tech assistant coach C.J. Ah You, a former BYU defensive player who is now coaching with the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, gave Will some sage advice.
“I’ve had three (ACL injuries),” he said. “Attack your rehab the way you attack game prep and you’ll be fine.”
That was the best counsel Will has received, Marshall Hammond said.
“We’ve quoted that line back-and-forth between myself and Will ever since. That’s been his rally cry, to attack his rehab the way he attacked game prep. And he has. He’s been in the training facility six to seven hours a day, every day. It’s been his full-time job.”
Because of Will’s injury status, Texas Tech signed a quarterback during the offseason, Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby.
While Sorsby, a fifth-year senior, was seen as the starter for the 2026 season, Will never saw it that way.
“He always viewed himself as the starter and Sorsby as his backup. By saying that, Sorsby was brought in because Will got hurt,” Marshall Hammond said. “Even though Will intended to compete for the job once he was healthy, he really learned a lot from Brendan as a player.”
From Sorsby, Will learned about how to improve his ability to throw on the run and read defenses.
“He was glad to lean into that with Brendan as well with film study,” Marshall said.
At Texas Tech, Sorsby was the source of plenty of drama during the offseason that ultimately resulted in him leaving the Texas Tech program in June in the wake of a gambling scandal and legal battles. Sorsby admitted to betting thousands of dollars in sports bets, including on his own team. The NCAA ruled him permanently ineligible.
Sorsby and Texas Tech mutually parted ways after a bizarre legal saga. Sorsby declared for the NFL supplemental draft, which the NFL decided not to hold this year. Sorsby is focused on preparing himself for the draft in 2027.
“Brendan and Will had a healthy relationship down to the end,” Marshall Hammond said.
‘Super bright future’
In July, Texas Tech officially named Will Hammond its starting quarterback for the 2026 season. He is expected to be taking the snaps when the Red Raiders host Abilene Christian in the season opener on Sept. 5.
(Texas Tech has reportedly added another quarterback, fifth-year veteran Tommy Castellanos, most recently of Florida State.)
In two seasons of limited action, Hammond has completed 104 of 166 passes (62.7%) for 1,151 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s rushed 60 times for 348 yards and seven TDs.
While Will gained meaningful experience as a true freshman and built upon that last fall, the keys to the offense now belong to him.
“Will has a super bright future, he’s a fantastic teammate,” Texas Tech linebacker Ben Roberts told reporters at Big 12 media days. “He knows everybody on the team when a lot of guys at a lot of other places don’t.
“He prepares himself that way like he’s the starter. He’s been doing that since he got to Texas Tech. He’s got a whole lot of confidence. I haven’t met a guy that’s about to go start in a sold-out game in a hostile environment with that much confidence.”
Said tight end Terrance Carter Jr.: “He don’t care who you bring in, he’s gonna be the starter, that’s always been his mindset. Even last year, he got into the game, he ended up getting hurt so we had to go get a QB. But we all knew that was our QB1.”
Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire was effusive in his praise for Will Hammond.
“He’s one of the first two or three people in the building. He’s one of the last ones to leave. Extremely hard worker,” McGuire said. “He has great confidence in himself. And he’s prepared himself to be in the position he’s in. He’s got an infectious personality that people gravitate to.”
