Texas QB Quinn Ewers ‘questionable’ for game against ULM: Will Arch Manning start first?

September 16, 2024

0 2 2 minutes read

Texas QB Quinn Ewers ‘questionable’ for game against ULM: Will Arch Manning start first?

Texas starting quarterback Quinn Ewers is questionable for the Longhorns’ game this weekend against Louisiana-Monroe, coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday.

Ewers, who suffered a strained oblique muscle in the second quarter of the Longhorns’ 56-7 win over UTSA, left Saturday’s game early in the second quarter and did not return. Redshirt freshman Arch Manning replaced Ewers with four touchdown passes and a touchdown run and would make his first career start Saturday if Ewers is unable to play.

Ewers was playing some of the best football games of his career before the injury. He has completed a career-high 73.4 percent of his passes this season, thrown for 691 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions and averaged 8.7 yards per attempt in eight or more quarters of action. Ewers was the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, according to BetMGM, entering last weekend.

Sarkisian said the injury was non-contact and Ewers felt pain when he threw a corner route for a 49-yard completion to Gunnar Helm. He tried to continue playing but had to leave the game after the next snap.

“On the release, he just feels it, you know?” Sarkisian said of the play that injured Ewers. “I think he thought it would just go away, so he stayed one more play and then realized, ‘I should probably get this checked out, this doesn’t feel right.'”

If Ewers is unable to go, it will be the third straight season he has missed a game due to injury. He missed three games in 2022 with a collarbone injury and missed two games last year with an AC sprain.

Sarkisian said they’ll monitor Ewers day-to-day and see how he feels. But based on how the quarterback has handled his last two injuries, he’s confident Ewers will make effective use of any downtime he has and be ready to go once he’s cleared to return.

“He always stays sharp,” Sarkisian said. “He’s also diligent with his recovery, and that’s why when he comes back, he comes back and performs at a high level.”

Regarding Manning’s performance on Saturday (he completed 9 of 12 passes for 223 yards), Sarkisian said the young quarterback looked “balanced and in control.” Sarkisian said Manning made good decisions and got the ball to the right receivers when reading his passes.

“He had to learn some things, but ultimately I thought he played at a high level,” Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian said they will adjust the number of practice games Manning gets with the first team as they monitor Ewers’ status. True freshman Trey Owens, the Longhorns’ third quarterback who made his career debut against UTSA, will also see more work this week. Owens would serve as Manning’s backup if Ewers is unable to go.