Tom K. Sorley of Big Spring, Texas

Big Spring, Texas

Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20. With a population of 25,233 at the 2000 census, it is the largest city between Midland to the west, Abilene to the east, Lubbock to the north, and San Angelo...

 is a former University of Nebraska Cornhusker quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

. An All-State quarterback at Big Spring High School

Big Spring High School

Big Spring High School is a 3A high school located in Big Spring, Texas . It is part of the Big Spring Independent School District located in north central Howard County. The high school building was dedicated on March 23, 1952. The dedication address was given by J.W. Edgar, State Commissioner...

, Sorley quarterbacked the Huskers to a 27-9-1 record and wins in two bowl games.

College career

Sorley began is college career in 1974 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during the tenure of head coach Tom Osborne. As quarterback Sorley was team captain and completed 57.2 percent of his passes (148-256) from 1976–1978, which is ninth on the Nebraska's all-time completion percentage list. Sorley holds seventh for Nebraska single-season passing yards (1,571) in 1978, and is thirteenth for NU career passing yards (2,230) during 1976-78. He quarterbacked the Huskers to a 27-9-1 record and wins in two bowl games. He graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in Business in 1979.

1978 statistics

Passing: 174 attempts, 102 completions, 7 interceptions (.584) for 1,571 yards, 7 TDs.

NU Top NCAA Pass Rating (min. 15 att.):

9. Rating: 212.0, Tom Sorley, QB, vs. Kansas St., Oct. 14, 1978 (16-11-1/218/2)

Bowl games

Sorley led Nebraska to a 17-14 upset of the #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners during the 1978 regular season. Following a shocking loss to Missouri the following week, the Cornhuskers were paired in a rare season rematch in the January 1, 1979 Orange Bowl

1979 Orange Bowl

The 1979 edition of the Orange Bowl featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the Oklahoma Sooners.This matchup was something of an anomaly, as it featured a rare rematch of two conference foes that had already played during the regular season. Nebraska had upset #1 ranked Oklahoma 17-14 on Nov. 11 in...

 game. Nebraska jumped out to a 7-0 lead on 21-yard pass from Sorley to split end Tim Smith, but lost 31-24.

Sorley played in the 21-10 Nebraska victory over LSU in the 1977 Liberty Bowl

Liberty Bowl

The Liberty Bowl is an annual U.S. American college football bowl game played in December of each year from 1959 to 2007 and in January in 2009 and 2010. The Liberty Bowl was sponsored by AXA Financial and was known as the AXA Liberty Bowl from 1997 to 2003...

 and the 1979 Olympia Challenge Bowl in Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

 which paired a group of Big 8 all-stars against their Pac-10 counterparts.

Honors

Sorley is a 1977 Academic All-American, an 1978 Academic All Big 8 First Team , a 1987 Academic All-Big 8 Conference selection and 1977 and 1978 AP All Big 8 quarterback Honorable Mention, and 1987 Cornhusker team captain. He was named ABC-TV Player of the game and Nebraska Player of the Week against 1977 Oklahoma State and against 1978 Hawaii.

Post-football career and life

Sorley is currently President/CEO of Rosendin Electric

Rosendin Electric

Rosendin Electric is an electrical contractor headquartered in San Jose, California, with close to 3,300 employees nationwide and an annual revenue of approximately $800 million...

, Inc., located in San Jose, CA, the fifth largest electrical contractor in the U.S. Active in industry affairs, Sorley serves on several joint IBEW/NECA committees and serves on the Board for the SF Bay Area Boy Scouts of America

Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...

, National Board for the Design Build Institute of America, and the National Board for Building Futures Council.