On Saturdays in the fall, former University of Texas economics professor Michael Brandl makes his weekly grocery trip to the H-E-B near Mueller.
He chooses that time specifically because that’s when the store is mostly abandoned. The Austin community is usually sitting on their couch or in a seat at Royal-Memorial Stadium cheering on Texas football. Brandl opts not to join them because of his secret: as a Wisconsin native who grew up a Green Bay Packers fan, he doesn’t really follow the Longhorns that closely.
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So imagine his surprise when he discovered that his hometown Packers had drafted his former student, Texas defensive lineman Barryn Sorrell, in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL draft with the 124th overall pick. Brandl knows Sorrell from his Intro to Macroeconomics course at UT, not as the defensive lineman who led the Longhorns in quarterback pressures last season.
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Brandl has taught plenty of student-athletes, many of whom failed to have illustrious professional careers. But after learning about Sorrell through hours of private economic lessons, he couldn’t be more excited to see his former student trade in burnt orange for dark green and gold.
“He came into my class and did not have success, right?” Brandl said. “But it’s not that you failed, right? It’s how you pick yourself up.”
New Green Bay Packers edge rusher Barryn Sorrell is interviewed by the local media during a rookie minicamp on May 2 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisc. The former Texas Longhorn was drafted in the fourth round the week before.
The professor and his student
In spring of 2022, Brandl received an email from Sorrell, then a UT sophomore. Amid the defensive lineman’s busy spring workout schedule and other commitments, he was looking for a way to improve his grades. Because Sorrell couldn’t attend office hours, Brandl offered to meet him over Zoom every week for private lessons, an offer that usually falls on deaf ears.
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To Brandl’s surprise, Sorrell accepted.
The professor understands that student-athletes have rigorous schedules, including daily practices, weekly travel, playing games, working out and studying for other classes. Some are looking for handouts to “get by,” he said, and while he’s sympathetic, the economist doesn’t gift grades.
Former University of Texas economics professor Michael Brandl speaks at the McCombs Alumni Conference.
“You got to earn it,” Brandl said. “I’m not going to do them any favors if I give it to them, and I’m not going to give them a grade they don’t deserve … Even if I had the ability to do it, it would not be doing them a service.”
And make no mistake, economics didn’t come easy for Sorrell. But it’s not in his nature to give up. Back home, he saw how parents and adults reacted when he told them he wanted to play professionally. Even if an athlete makes it to the highest level of college football, the chances of being drafted to the NFL are remote.
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“He understood the chances that he’s not going to make it, so he’s got to have something else, he’s got to work even harder than everyone else,” Brandl said.
Throughout their Zoom sessions, Brandl learned about his tenacity and talked about what drove his desire to make it in the NFL. Specifically, Sorrell mentioned giving back to his mom, who did so much for him, and using his privilege to help his community back in New Orleans.
It’s why Sorrell stuck with the class, and why he’s so grateful to Brandl for guiding him through the subject. Learning about mutual funds, investments based off of liquidity and how putting away money helps in the long term is useful info for any person. It’s especially pertinent now that Sorrell is an NFL player.
Texas edge rusher Barryn Sorrell, center, and fellow defensive players react to a play during the Longhorns’ win over Mississippi State on Sept. 28 at Royal-Memorial Stadium.
“His class was more stuff that relates to real life, stuff that’s actually going on,” Sorrell said. “I remember it being pretty challenging for me … him just going above and beyond, giving me an opportunity to learn from him in his free time. He didn’t have to do that.”
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He didn’t, but seeing Sorrell’s desire to learn inspired Brandl. There’s nothing more gratifying for the professor than seeing the figurative light bulb switch on in his students’ heads, he said. Sorrell’s effort, initiative and unwavering dedication to improvement only made Brandl want to help him more.
It paid off. Sorrell passed the class and the growth that Brandl saw in his student was one of the more impressive things he had ever seen.
“I don’t know if I could have pulled that off when I was his age, with all of the things going on,” Brandl said. “To be able to do that in the class, much less to have a successful college career, then to have that pick on draft day.”
After draft day: the next step for Sorrell
On that day, Sorrell was the lone player in the draft prospects’ green room. He had hopes that he would have gone on Friday, during the draft’s second and third rounds, and didn’t have any clue that the Packers would be the team drafting him. He simply wanted to fulfill his dream of walking onto the stage.
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As he exited the tunnel inside Lambeau Field to meet NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the Green Bay crowd met him with uproarious applause.
It was a heart-warming moment, but there’s still more work to be done. Sorrell will face the best of the best athletes and as a fourth-round pick, his leash is shorter than other rookies. The average length of an NFL career is 3.3 years and there’s a good chance that he’ll encounter struggles with the Packers like he did with Intro to Macroeconomics.
But no matter what happens, Packers fans will learn ― like Brandl did ― that Sorrell will always pick himself back up.
“When you really look at the recipe, the things that get you there, it doesn’t change,” Sorrell said. “The work gotta go on, and you got to grow in your faith as well.”
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NFL scouts time Texas defensive lineman Barryn Sorrell in the 40-yard dash during the NFL scouting combine on Feb. 27 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. Sorrell was drafted in the fourth round by the Green Bay Packers, one of 12 Longhorns taken in this year’s draft.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football’s Barryn Sorrell was impacted by UT eoncomics professor