© Scott Wachter, USA TODAY
Slow Start, Big Finish: Longhorns QB Quinn Ewers Impresses in College Debut
AUSTIN - Quinn Ewers entered his first start as the Texas Longhorns quarterback against Louisiana Monroe on Saturday night about as even-keeled as possible.
Something that surprised even him.
“I’m actually kind of surprised that I didn’t really have any butterflies today,” he said.
Someone else who surprised, however, was Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian, who was thoroughly impressed with his new signal caller -- especially in the face of adversity after Ewers threw an interception on his second career college pass.
“I found out about him,” Sarkisian said. “I found out that he’s not going to go into a shell, he’s not going to beat himself up and get down on himself. He’s gonna bounce back.”
It was a mistake that Ewers knew, as soon as he let the pass go, that he should not have made.
And now, thanks to the tutelage of his coach, he has learned from it.
“Coach Sark pulled me aside and said it’s all good, and sometimes we have to punt,” Ewers said. “Sometimes it’s a win for us. I just stayed calm and focused on the next drive. It’s going to get fixed this week, for sure. Just need to throw it to green grass when it comes down to it.”
And n the very next drive, Ewers drove the Longhorns down the field and connected with tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders on his first career touchdown pass.
Was Ewers perfect outside of the interception? No, far from it. He missed some deep throws and some intermediate throws. He took an unnecessary sack as well.
He also missed star wideout Xavier Worthy in the back of the end zone for what could have been a touchdown.
Instead, the Longhorns had to settle for a field goal -- something they got away with against Louisiana Monroe, and that could have gotten them beat in Big 12 play or next week against No. 1 Alabama.
Nevertheless, Ewers stayed composed and led the Longhorns to a blowout win, completing 16 of 24 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns in just two and a half quarters of action.
“I didn’t feel for a second where he got flustered or was out of whack by any means,” Sarkisian said of his quarterback. “I thought he was very composed. Even the throws that he missed, he almost signaled to me ‘I should have done this.’ That part was encouraging.”
A big part of that success was Sarkisian not holding Ewers back and letting him take in the full experience of his first start without any limitations.
And though Ewers didn't necessarily hit on all the downfield shots, he did not hesitate to take them either, which is a trait few redshirt freshmen possess on their first starts.
"We stuck to the plan," Sarkisian said. "We had some things called down the field that I thought he did a nice job of finding his check downs on. You can't expect him to ride this bike and do it with training wheels on. I've got to let him go. We did that tonight."
Unfortunately, Ewers will have to face the toughest test imaginable next Saturday in just his second start, when the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide comes to Austin for an 11 am kickoff at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
No matter what happens next Saturday, however, Ewers is on the right path and has a bright future ahead of him on the 40 Acres.
You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan
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