Close to halftime against the Georgia Bulldogs, Texas Longhorns QB Quinn Ewers was removed from the lineup. In his place, redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning was substituted.
Was it an injury to Ewers, recovering from his previous injury, or simply to try and jolt the Texas offense that prompted the switch?
What Happened to Quinn Ewers?
Well, first things first. Ewers was playing just his second game back from an injury sustained in Week 4 against UTSA, having made his return a week prior against Oklahoma.
Even in the victory over the Sooners in the Red River Rivalry, Ewers didn’t quite look himself. It was back in Week 4 when this all began.
It was then when Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian addressed the media in the aftermath of the win over UTSA, a victory that propelled the Longhorns to the top of the AP Poll, and provided an update on Ewers. The star QB suffered an abdominal strain and is considered “week to week.”
On a first-and-10 play with 12:19 remaining in the second quarter against the Roadrunners, Ewers handed the ball off to RB Quintrevion Wisner for a 1-yard gain. However, the third-year starter signaled to the sideline and went to the ground in pain.
On the previous play, Ewers uncorked a 49-yard pass to TE Gunnar Helm, but he wasn’t hit in the pocket. After trainers attended to him on the field, he was able to walk off and into the medical tent on his own power — albeit with a noticeable limp — clearly frustrated.
Ewers exited the contest, having completed 14 of 16 passes for 185 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while rushing once for 7 yards.
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Now, fast forward to the Georgia game. Ewers was largely ineffective against the Bulldogs, completing just 6-of-12 passes for 17 yards with an interception when he was removed from the lineup. It was clear for those watching that something was off with Ewers.
Whether it was the abdominal injury or something different, however, is the big question.
In his first series against the Bulldogs, Manning didn’t quite fare much better, completing just a single pass on four attempts for eight yards. He achieved a penalty only after a scramble attempt that would have ended in a sack saw Georgia commit a facemask penalty on the play.
The big question from here on out is how long Ewers would remain sidelined. Manning was inserted with four minutes remaining in the quarter and Georgia took possession over at the two-minute timeout.
Latest Ewers Update Sees His Return to Start Second Half
Though the Longhorns went to the halftime break against Georgia with Manning on the field, it was Ewers who took the field to start the third quarter. When asked by Holly Rowe on the sidelines ahead of the third quarter, coach Sarkisian was adamant about who his starting QB was.
“Ewers, and it’s important to remember that Quinn Ewers is our starter, we’ve said that over and over,” Sarkisian said via the ESPN broadcast. “Quinn is the leader of this group.”
On his first series back, Ewers completed his first pass attempt, following a fourth-down conversion, throwing to a wide-open Matthew Golden over the middle of the field.
Ewers is back in the lineup, but this QB ‘dilemma’ is far from over.
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