The Texas Longhorns have found themselves with a massive quarterback controversy.
Quinn Ewers entered the season as the starter but went down early in the season with an injury. Highly touted five-star recruit Arch Manning stepped in and took the college football world by storm.
Manning scored 11 touchdowns in parts of three games, including two starts. However, Ewers resumed the role of the starting quarterback after getting healthy in a move that left many people scratching their heads.
Ewers faced the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday in his return to action, and the results were a bit of a mixed bag. He threw an interception on the Longhorns’ first possession before eventually settling in and leading Texas to a comfortable win.
According to Horns 247, Ewers was asked if his sluggish start was due to any lingering effects of his injury.
“It was a little different, but, I mean, nothing drastic to where it was throwing me off,” Ewers said. “So, not too much.”
“I think just my speed with my feet and my confidence in my throws throughout practice should have been better, which would have carried over to the game.
I think I just should have practiced a little bit better.”
“It’s definitely tough, just because, throughout the week you don’t have live bullets flying at you,” Ewers said. “And the speed of the game is just not the same in practice, but you try to emulate it as best as we can.
It begs the question of why Texas turned to Ewers at all if he was so obviously unprepared for the moment, especially after seeing what Manning had to offer.
For what it’s worth, Ewers seems to think he’ll be able to bounce back this upcoming weekend against Georgia.
I’m not going to sit here and belabor the point, but [against Oklahoma] I don’t think I played as well as I needed to play for the standard. And I’m just going to try to continue to practice as well as I can, and pick up the tempo within myself.”
Nevertheless, it’s seeming increasingly likely that at some point the Longhorns will have to turn back to Manning if they want to maximize their potential.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.