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Neither the Texas Longhorns nor quarterback Quinn Ewers had the season they were hoping for in 2022.
Ewers, a Texas native, made headlines when he transferred back home after spending one season at Ohio State.
Ewers looked every bit the former No. 1 overall prospect that he was out of high school at times. But injuries and inconsistency plagued him throughout the season.
Ewers threw for just 2,177 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions in 10 games played and the Longhorns went just 8-5, capping the season off with a loss to Texas in the Alamo Bowl.
It was, however, just Ewers’ first year as a starting quarterback and college and many foresee a big step forward in 2023. But if he doesn’t, his starting job could well go flying out the window.
That’s because Texas recently signed Arch Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning and the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 class.
Most believed Manning would redshirt in 2023 while Ewers started before entering the NFL Draft should have a breakout season.
But now it appears that may not be the case.
Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian spoke to media members on Monday after his team’s first practice and revealed that Manning and Ewers will compete for the starting job in 2023.
“I’m not worried about who’s going to be on the cover of what magazine next week,” Sarkisian said. “I’m more focused on is, is each guy focusing on what they need to do to develop to be the best player that they can be? Quinn has an entire year of a head start, but I don’t want to hold Arch back. I want to see how far he can take this thing and what it can look like.” – via ESPN
Sarkisian also mocked the notion that Ewers is more focused after cutting his trademark mullet during the offseason.
“All of a sudden, now the guy gets a haircut and cleans his beard up a little bit and everyone thinks Quinn’s real serious right now,” Sarkisian said. “But that’s human nature. It’s never been a question of him taking this serious. He wants to be really good (and) he wants to be a leader on this team. He wants to win a championship with these guys. And that doesn’t change what he does day to day, but appearance is what it is. And so I do think him recognizing that shows some maturity.”
Whether it’s Ewers or Manning, Texas will badly need a step up in QB play in 2023. The Longhorns ranked just 56th in the nation a year ago with 241.4 passing yards per game.