Steve Sarkisian names Quinn Ewers as Texas starting QB over Hudson Card in bizarre announcement
Texas named Quinn Ewers as its starting quarterback ahead of the 2022 season, an announcement many have taken for granted since his move from Ohio State.
But the manner in which Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian made the announcement — if he could be credited with it at all — has led many to question the team’s pre-season quarterback situation.
Here’s a breakdown of how the news broke, via Austin American-Statesman’s Brian Davis:
How that came about today was strange. Texas brought in three players for interviews. Then, out of the blue, Texas SID John Bianco said he had a message from Sark. Quinn Ewers is the starter. You could have heard a pin drop. Wow.
— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) August 19, 2022
To recap: Sarkisian did Not Make a statement and instead contact the school’s sports information director to drop the message. Nor did he comment on what Ewers had done to secure the starting spot, nor did he discuss Ewers’ main rivals for the role, Redshirt sophomore Hudson Card.
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Texas’ announcement also came after reports suggested Sarkisian would make the decision after Saturday’s practice session. Sarkisian told reporters Thursday that he had “a pretty good idea” who his starter would be but wasn’t ready to commit just yet.
“I want to give these guys an opportunity to compete,” Sarkisian said (via Sports Illustrated), “so we’re going to do that.”
He also claimed Monday that the fight between Ewers and Card was closer than many expected.
“It’s tight,” Sarkisian said. “Both guys work very hard. They both have a great attitude.”
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Ewers of Southlake, Texas, initially scorned Longhorn’s hometown of joining the state of Ohio; He was the No. 1 overall pick in the class of 2021 after dropping out of school early to play for Ryan Day and the Buckeyes. But the freshman couldn’t prevail in Columbus, falling behind eventual Heisman Trophy finalist CJ Stroud on the depth chart.
Ewers made the move to Texas in January after seeing limited action for Ohio State. According to his player bio, he was credited with two games — both handovers — in the Buckeyes’ 56-7 win over Michigan State on Nov. 20.
Card, on the other hand, comes from a season in which he played eight games — starting with two — and completed 51 of 83 passes (61.4 percent) for 590 yards and five touchdowns to an interception. He shared time with Casey Thompson as the Longhorns finished seventh in the Big 12 with a 5-7 record (3-6 in conference play).
Now Sarkisian has signed at Ewers ahead of the 2022 season. The quarterback will have his first varsity start against Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 3 before senior-ranked Alabama travel to Austin on Sept. 10.