Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers will start for the No. 1 Longhorns on Saturday against Oklahoma, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.
Ewers missed the Longhorns’ last two games after suffering a strained oblique in the first half of Texas’ 56-7 win over UTSA on Sept. 14. Redshirt freshman Arch Manning started two games in Ewers’ place, leading the Longhorns to wins over Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State, but will return to the backup role against the Sooners.
On Wednesday’s SEC availability report, Ewers was listed as probable. When discussing Ewers’ status Monday, Sarkisian was optimistic after the junior practiced three times during the Longhorns’ off week but wanted to see how he responded to an increased workload leading up to Saturday’s game against the No. 18 Sooners.
Ewers returning from injury in the 120th edition of the Red River rivalry is familiar territory. In 2022, his first year at Texas, he missed three games because of a clavicle injury suffered in a Week 2 loss to Alabama. In his first game back — Oct. 8, 2022 against Oklahoma — he threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-0 win over the Sooners.
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Manning performed admirably in his two-plus games filling in for Ewers. He completed 69.4 percent of his passes for 806 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for two touchdowns.
Sarkisian has lauded Manning for his play in Ewers’ place but has been intentional about his messaging and making it clear that there is no quarterback controversy.
“Quinn has earned and deserved that right to be our starting quarterback,” Sarkisian said Monday. “Arch has continued to work really hard and we’re fortunate to have him and the player that he is and the leader that he is as well. It’s a very fortunate situation that we’re in.”
Ewers has made 25 career starts for the Longhorns, going 19-6. Texas (5-0) meets Oklahoma (4-1) at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday at the Cotton Bowl. It will be their first meeting as SEC members after joining the conference this year.
(Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
