AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday the decision on whether quarterback Quinn Ewers plays in the Longhorns’ Southeastern Conference opener will come Friday.
Ewers is recovering from an abdominal strain that kept him out of the 51-3 home win over Louisiana-Monroe, allowing redshirt freshman Arch Manning to make his first career start. Ewers is officially listed as questionable on the SEC injury report released Wednesday.
“We want to give Quinn every opportunity to see if he’s ready to play,” Sarkisian said. “We’re not trying to pull the wool over anybody’s eyes. He’s improved every day and Arch has had a very good week.”
Sarkisian added that true freshman quarterback Trey Owens “probably had his best practice as a Longhorn” on Thursday and said that was “very encouraging.”
Texas’ first SEC opponent will certainly be without its starting quarterback. Mississippi State’s Blake Shapen had season-ending shoulder surgery after suffering an injury in last week’s 45-28 loss to the Florida Gators. Freshman Michael Van Buren Jr. is now the starter for the Bulldogs, and Sarkisian said he’ll be tough to gameplan against because there’s not a lot of tape on him. Van Buren came in after Shapen’s injury and completed 7 of 13 pass attempts for 100 yards.
“It’s a big challenge,” he said. “It’s a small sample size and they’ve had a week now to prepare a plan for the things he does well, and we’re going to have to sort through that. Knowing (Mississippi State head coach) Jeff Lebby, he’s a really good offensive mind and will put him in a position to have some success.”
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Sarkisian expects Lebby to utilize the high-percentage passing game and some direct snaps to running backs to help take pressure off his young quarterback.
“Our job is to get him uncomfortable,” Sarkisian said.
Mississippi State hasn’t beaten an FBS opponent this season, falling in three consecutive games to Arizona State, Toledo and Florida. The Bulldogs beat FCS school Eastern Kentucky to open their season.