Alamo Bowl 'Tryout'? Arch Manning Arrival Creates Pressure For Longhorns QB Quinn Ewers
AUSTIN - As a team, the Texas Longhorns don't have too much on the line on Thursday night against the Washington Huskies in the Alamo Bowl.
But for one player, it could mean everything.
That player, of course, is starting quarterback Quinn Ewers, who has held the title of the No. 1 quarterback since Week 1 against Louisiana Monroe.
And while Ewers got off to a tremendous start to his career with the Longhorns, over the last few weeks of the regular season, things were... less than stellar.
Ewers struggled so much, in fact, that Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian left the possibilities open for a quarterback competition this spring and summer when heralded 5-star freshman Arch Manning comes to Austin.
Now, Fox Sports Analyst Joel Klatt has taken things a step further, insinuating that, with Manning already breathing down his neck, Thursday night is ostensibly a tryout for Ewers.
"The main question for Texas in this game, the Alamo Bowl, is going to be, what does Quinn Ewers look like?" Klatt said. "Because it's even about the matchup against Washington, but if he doesn't start playing better than he did down the stretch, then everyone is just going to be waiting for January 9. What happens on January 9? The spring semester starts. Guess who's going to be walking around campus? Arch Manning. That is a giant cloud over Quinn Ewers... Ewers now is sitting there with the shadow of Arch Manning getting larger, and larger, and larger."
But how inconsistent has Ewers been in the second half of the season?
After completing better than 65 percent of his passes in his first four games, Ewers completed 38 percent against Oklahoma State in a loss, 58 percent in the win over Kansas State, and 43 percent in the loss to TCU.
He then completed 57 percent against Kansas in a win and threw just 16 passes in the season finale against Baylor.
He also threw just five touchdowns to four interceptions in the final five games and just one touchdown over the last three.
"In the last two games they kind of avoided him, and went heavy Bijan," Klatt said. "And rightly so. He threw 21 passes and 16 passes in the last two games. Bijan was the deal. Well now, you're not going to have Bijan, and so this is a like 'what do you got, buddy?'. This is almost a tryout, because if this doesn't go well, the problem is, I don't know if it matters how well he plays in the spring because that fan base is going to be clamoring for Arch Manning."
If Ewers can come out and put on a show against the Huskies' No. 92 ranked passing defense, it might be enough to hold off Manning heading into the 2023 season, in conjunction with a strong spring and summer.
But if he struggles?
The hype around Manning taking over the starting role as a true freshman will only begin to grow.
You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan
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