© Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports
Quinn Ewers Taking Proper Steps Forward As Longhorns 2023 Starter
Fans love drama in college football. They love drama in life, to be honest. Why have something simplistic when controversy and conversations sells?
Maybe there is a bit of drama from the outside noise when discussing Texas' quarterback battle between Quinn Ewers, Maalik Murphy and No. 1 quarterback recruit Arch Manning. Fans hear the name of the latter and instantly think of Peyton.
Or Eli.
For the older Longhorns' fans, Archie probably pops into their head.
Sure, Manning will one day suit up for the Horns. He may be the missing piece that takes the program from a middle-tier Big 12 roster to a can't-miss team with College Football Playoff expectations in the SEC.
For now, the job still belongs to Ewers, the primary starter for Texas in 2022. And he's making sure that if he loses the title of QB1, it's because of productivity, not nepotism.
“I think Quinn had a really good winter conditioning kind of offseason,” Steve Sarkisian said last month. “I think he got himself in really good shape. He definitely feels more comfortable. He’s throwing the ball very naturally, very comfortably. From a decision-making standpoint, the reads are just happening that much quicker, that much more decisive."
Would Ewers be "fighting" for the starting job if he played all last season? Would Texas have missed out on a rematch in the Big 12 title game against TCU if he wasn't sidelined for three weeks starting mid-September?
Ewers, the then-highest quarterback recruit to come to the Forty Acres since Vince Young, couldn't stop the faithful from gushing over his workouts last spring. That carried into the regular season opener against Louisiana-Monroe.
If not for a hit on the second drive by Alabama pass-rusher Dallas Turner, fans likely are mentioning Ewers' name in a different light. The Horns were driving in Week 2, making it look easy against the Crimson Tide secondary. Ewers, who the play prior connected with Xavier Worthy for a gain of 46, had been carving up a defense that finished top 10 nationally in points allowed.
After he hit the turf, Ewers' day was done. And the Longhorns? They lost momentum. They lost the game to then-No. 1 team in the country. Two weeks later, they dropped another game on the road to Texas Tech, and conversations of being one of the final four teams left ceased.
So did the hype of the once "savior" of Austin.
Even when Ewers returned to dismantle Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, there was hesitation to embrace him fully. Thus the way of life for a Longhorns fans. Things soured exponentially after Ewers tossed three interceptions and completed a career-low 38.3 percent of his passes in a 41-31 loss to Oklahoma State.
One sub-optimal game led to another shaky performance. Then another. The complaints kept piling and the production kept dwindling. After a three-touchdown day against Iowa State, Ewers never completed more than 58.1 percent of his passes until the season finale win against Baylor. He threw just five touchdown passes against four interceptions.
“I think to Quinn’s defense, he’s looking to where we designed the plays to go," Sarkisian said following the loss to TCU. "Ultimately, we’ve got to execute better in the passing game. But overall, collectively, we need to execute better offensively.”
Nothing is promised under Sarkisian. It's earned. For those in the pro-Ewers camp still believing he's the right man for the job, it's best to turn back to Texas' loss against Washington in the Alamo Bowl.
Ewers didn't win the game, but he wasn't the reason for a season-ending loss in San Antonio. He threw for a season-high 369 yards and a touchdown and averaged 11.9 yards per completion.
That performance has carried over into spring practice. Ewers remains first in the throwing order during drills. Murphy and Manning trail behind as second and third, respectively, switching up spots depending on the afternoon.
Sarkisian said he's been pleased with the "intentional approach" from Ewers in camp. He's been vocal in the huddle and the quarterback room, but still is looking to guarantee his spot as the season-opening starter against Rice come September 2.
The annual Orange-White game might give a better feel to where Manning and Murphy are in their progression. One aspect in Ewers' favor: experience, something neither of the two competitors have at the collegiate level.
“I think it just looks like a guy who’s in Year 2 and is growing into Year 2 from a comfort level,” Sarkisian said. “Not perfect, and I don’t expect him to be perfect right now. We challenge him every day and the defense is challenging the offense every day. And we’re putting new things in."
Sarkisian is in a crucial year to his legacy with the Horns. He's yet to finish with double-digit wins. The Longhorns haven't returned to the Big 12 title game since 2018 when Tom Herman was closing out his second year. And things will only become more challenging next fall when Texas trades road trips to Fort Worth and Waco for weekends in Baton Rouge and Athens.
Things can change from now until the new season kicks off. For the time being, the job is Ewers to lose.
He plans on setting up shop in the backfield until the eviction notice arrives.
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