news

Quinn Ewers still questionable, Arch Manning could start for No. 1 Texas’ SEC debut against Mississippi State

VaselineSeptember 24, 2024

0 2 minutes read

Quinn Ewers still questionable, Arch Manning could start for No. 1 Texas’ SEC debut against Mississippi State

Arch Manning could lead No. 1 Texas when SEC play kicks off Saturday.

Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday that starting quarterback Quinn Ewers remains questionable for the game because of an injury to his oblique muscles.

“He’s got to do enough to show he can play,” Sarkisian said, via ESPN’s Dave Wilson. “Can he execute the game plan? I’ve got to kind of see how he responds to today’s work, and then what it looks like on a Tuesday, then a Wednesday, which are pretty tough days for him, and then how he recovers on Thursday.

“It’s going to be a work in progress of sorts. But today was a good start.”

Ewers went down with an abdominal injury in the second quarter of Texas’ 56-7 win over UTSA in Week 3 of the season and has not played since. Manning stepped right into that game, throwing a touchdown pass on his first play and following that up with a 67-yard touchdown run on his third play.

Manning then started in Saturday’s 51-3 victory over Louisiana-Monroe. He went 15 of 29 for 258 yards and had two touchdowns and two interceptions in that blowout win that pushed the Longhorns to 4-0 on the season. One of those interceptions came on his first possession of the game.

“I’ve seen a lot of young quarterbacks have a tough start, and then that tough start turns into a tough game,” Sarkisian said, via ESPN. “It was a little bit of a tough start for him, but I thought he rebounded and did some nice things for us. … Arch is a really good deep-ball thrower, and he gives guys a chance to make plays on those shots down the field.

“With a young quarterback, I’m a little bummed. I wish I had a couple more freebie completions for him, so there would have been a little more balance to get that completion percentage up, be efficient, move the chains.”

Ewers amassed 3,479 yards and 22 touchdowns with the Longhorns last season. He returned to the program this fall and led them to a 2-0 start, including a 31-12 win over Michigan in Ann Arbor earlier this month.

Texas plays its first SEC game since joining the conference on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Mississippi State. The Bulldogs enter that game with a 1-3 record and have lost three straight.

If Ewers can’t play Saturday, he’ll have extra time to recover. The Longhorns will have a week of rest before facing No. 21 Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl and then No. 2 Georgia in what will undoubtedly be their toughest stretch of the season.

VaselineSeptember 24, 2024

0 2 minutes read