Casey Thompson Out?: Texas' Sarkisian Reveals Gameplan For Arkansas
Casey Thompson watched Hudson Card and Texas' offense run up and down the field at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium against Louisiana's defense for three quarters on Saturday. Card, the dual-threat redshirt freshman, won the starting job and led the Longhorns to a 38-17 victory to kick off the 2021 season.
Will Thompson remain on the sideline this week in Fayetteville, Ark. when Texas (1-0) takes on future SEC rival Arkansas?
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian Thursday that Thompson still would still be a part of the offensive approach. Both QBs will play, but not even the first-year head coach knows how many snaps the junior will see over Card.
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“The plan is to play Casey as well again here Saturday night,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “Again, there's not an exact timetable or series that that'll happen. There's going to be a little bit of a feel, which we're pretty comfortable doing.”
Card went 14 of 21 passing for 224 yards and three touchdowns Saturday at home. He built a nice rapport with redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jordan Whittington and running back Bijan Robinson out of the backfield.
Whittington finished with seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown. Robinson, a Heisman favorite, recorded 173 total yards of offense and two scores off 24 plays, including an 18-yard touchdown reception to give the Longhorns a 7-3 lead.
The thing is, who's to say that Thompson couldn't have posted similar numbers with the new Texas names as well?
READ MORE: Sark's Choice: Hudson Card's Career At Texas Is About To Take Off
Last season, Thompson went 12 fo 17 passing for 224 yards and six touchdowns, four of which came in the Alamo Bowl victory over Colorado. He also added another 22 yards and a touchdown with his legs off 10 carries.
Thompson went 4 of 5 passing Saturday for 45 yards and a touchdown. With the second-team offense, he looked poised in the pocket and continued to build off his limited reps from 2020.
“I thought it was good to get Casey in there and give him some real plays,” Sarkisian said Monday. “And he played well. To get those kind of extended drives the way he did, I think he got three series, that was good for him. He operated really well."
Sarkisian has said in the past that a backup QB must prepare as a starter. At any given moment, they could be called upon and must live up to the same expectations if they hope to win. For now, Card will remain the starter, and Thompson the backup.
Then again, anything could change following the outcome in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium come Saturday night.
Said Sarkisian: "You got to make sure your backup is prepared to play when his number is called at that those critical moments, so we'll continue down that road with Casey on our end.”
Injury update: Sarkisian said that starting right guard Junior Angilau has been cleared to play Saturday. Angilau, who has started 22 games for the Longhorns, left in the third quarter last week with a knee injury. He was replaced by freshman Hayden Conner.
Wide receiver Troy Omerie still has yet to be cleared by Texas' medical staff to return to game action and will miss Week 2. A 6-3 vertical option known for his ability to win in man coverage, Sarkisian said that he will remain a week-to-week decision until further notice.
“Troy is running, he looks good,” Sarkisian said. “Hopefully we get him back sooner rather than later. But we definitely want to make sure that he's in the right space physically to do so. But he was back going this week that way.”
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