Steve Sarkisian Reveals Why Quinn Ewers Won Texas Longhorns Starting QB Job
AUSTIN - After a tight battle throughout the spring, summer and fall camp, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian named redshirt freshman Quinn Ewers as his starting quarterback on Friday.
Ewers beat out sophomore Hudson Card to win the job, in a competition that many, including LonghornsCountry.com felt, was inevitably going to belong to Ewers at some point.
During his availability with the media on Monday, Sarkisian revealed exactly why he made the decision to go with the uber-talented Ewers, over the system veteran in Card.
"Quinn can make all the throws," Sarkisian said. "I feel very comfortable about that. I feel very comfortable about his playmaking ability. I feel like his growth in the system is one where we can really see where it is going to head under him, and I'm excited about it. "
This decision obviously comes with some risk for Sarkisian, as would any quarterback battle.
And chief among those concerns is whether or not Ewers is actually ready from an experience standpoint to be the No. 1 guy in Austin.
Sarkisian, however, is confident in his decision and has been impressed by Ewers' development in the offense over the last few months.
"I don't feel like he's a true freshman because of the exposure he got last year," Sarkisian said. "Clearly he was new to our offense, new to our team. And I've said this all along about Quinn, I think he came in with a really open mind. I thought he's been a very good teammate, and I thought he's been really coachable. My expectation is that he will continue that and then only get better in those areas."
Ewers will get his first career start against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 3.
But unlike last year against Louisiana with Card and Casey Thompson, Sarkisian does not expect both quarterbacks to play.
"I don't," Sarkisian said. "But you never know how games go. Quinn is going to be our starter."
After that, the gloves will come off, and Ewers will have to contend with Nick Saban and the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
And on that day, Ewers, and Sarkisian's confidence in his ability, will truly be put to the test.
You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan
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