Texas starting quarterback Quinn Ewers is questionable for the Longhorns’ game this weekend against Louisiana-Monroe, coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday.
Ewers, who suffered a strained oblique in the second quarter of the Longhorns’ 56-7 win over UTSA, left Saturday’s game early in the second quarter and did not return. Redshirt freshman Arch Manning replaced Ewers with four touchdown passes and a touchdown run and would make his first career start Saturday if Ewers can’t go.
Ewers was playing the best football of his career before the injury. He has completed a career-high 73.4 percent of his passes this season, throwing for 691 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions and averaging 8.7 yards per attempt in more than eight quarters of action. According to BetMGM, Ewers was the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy last weekend.
Sarkisian said the injury caused no contact and that Ewers felt pain when he threw a corner route for a 49-yard completion to Gunnar Helm. He tried to continue playing, but had to leave the game after the next snap.
“On release he just feels it, you know?” Sarkisian said of the play that injured Ewers. “I think what he thought was going to go away, so he kept playing one more time and then realized, ‘I should probably get this looked at, this doesn’t feel right.'”
If Ewers can’t go, it will be the third season in a row that he has missed a game due to injury. He missed three games in 2022 with a collarbone injury and missed two games last year with an AC joint sprain.
Sarkisian said they will monitor Ewers daily to see how he is feeling. But based on how the quarterback has handled his past two injuries, he’s confident Ewers will use the downtime he has effectively and be ready once he’s cleared to return.
“He always stays dialed in,” Sarkisian said. “He is also diligent with his recovery, which is why when he comes back he comes back and performs at a high level.”
Regarding Manning’s performance on Saturday (he finished 9 of 12 passing for 223 yards), Sarkisian said the young quarterback looked “poised and composed.” Sarkisian said Manning made good decisions and got the ball to the right receivers on reads.
“There were some learning curves, some things to learn from, but ultimately I thought he played at a high level,” Sarkisian said.
Sarkisian said they will adjust how many practice reps Manning gets with the first team while monitoring Ewers’ status. True freshman Trey Owens, the Longhorns’ third-string quarterback who made his career debut against UTSA, will also see more work this week. Owens would serve as a backup for Manning if Ewers cannot go.
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