TCU Horned Frogs Preparing For QBs Maalik Murphy and Quinn Ewers vs. Texas Longhorns
AUSTIN, TX -- Rumors have been swirling that Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers could return to the fold this Saturday when his team heads to Fort Worth to take on the TCU Horned Frogs.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian added a bit of fuel to those rumors during his Monday press conference, noting that Ewers had thrown in practice, and was 'day-to-day', rather than 'week-to-week' going forward into the week.
And in order to prepare for his team's critical matchup this weekend vs. Texas, TCU coach Sonny Dykes revealed that his team is preparing for both Ewers and Maalik Murphy, the latter of which has started the last two matchups for the Horns.
“We have to. Any time you play anybody that’s got multiple quarterbacks, you just have to prepare for both," Dykes said in his Tuesday press conference. "The game plan probably won’t be that much different if it’s one quarterback or the other, that’s my guess based on what they’ve in the past and what they’ve done since Maalik Murphy has taken over. We have to prepare for both.”
Texas Longhorns QB Maalik Murphy vs. the BYU Cougars
Jay Janner/American-Statesman-USA TODAY NETWORK
While the game plan with Murphy has not been all that dissimilar to when Ewers has been under center for Texas, this could present a bit of a challenge for the Frogs in some respects.
Obviously, both Ewers and Murphy can make any throw that is asked of them in the Texas offense.
Where the difference lies though, is in the experience and the poise of both players, which of course, makes the plan in defending them slightly unique to each one.
“It makes it a little bit more difficult, obviously," Dykes said. "I think that’s just the nature of college football. You look around the league, and starting with us there have been a lot of starting quarterbacks who have gone down and a lot of backups that have had to step in and play. It’s just the nature of the beast right now.”
Over the last two weeks, pressures and different looks by BYU and Kansas State made Murphy extremely uncomfortable in certain instances and forced Murphy to make mistakes.
While Ewers has - time and time again - been unphased and on target when faced with similar situations, causing defenses to adjust the amount of pressure they put onto him in order to help their secondary.
No matter which one is on the field for the Longhorns, the Horned Frogs' 82nd-ranked pass defense is going to face a stiff challenge.
But either way, Dykes will have his team ready.
"The guys are obviously fired up just to get back out and play," Dykes said. "Looking forward to the game. Guys are preparing well. Going to go try to play the best game we’ve played all year on Saturday. We’re certainly going to have to play well to have a chance to win."
