Texas is still searching for consistency at the quarterback position following the departure of Sam Ehlinger.
Second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian has already hit the position hard on the recruiting trail, landing four-star quarterback Maalik Murphy from the 2022 class and former five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers via the transfer portal. It’s suddenly stacking up to be one of the most talented quarterback rooms in the country.
ESPN recently took a look at college football’s future quarterback rankings over the next three seasons. Recruiting, the likelihood of players entering the NFL draft early and/or entering the transfer portal, coaching, and depth were all taken into consideration.
Texas landed at No. 8 overall, behind programs such as USC, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Ohio State. Considering the Longhorns do not have a true returning starter, it’s seemingly a realistic spot to be in the rankings.
Scouting the Longhorns: Texas A&M boasts the most loaded quarterback room in the state, but Texas has the most interesting collection. The Longhorns’ primary contenders — Hudson Card, Quinn Ewers and Maalik Murphy — all carry freshman or sophomore eligibility. Whoever emerges from the offseason competition could guide coach Steve Sarkisian’s offense through 2023, and possibly beyond. The spotlight is undoubtedly on Ewers, who returns home after skipping his senior season of high school to attend Ohio State, where he arrived late, pocketed NIL dollars and didn’t attempt a pass. Ewers was one of the more decorated high school quarterback prospects in recent years, and could be a natural fit to operate Sarkisian’s system. Card opened the 2021 season as the starter and benefited from a year under Sarkisian. He came out of Austin’s Lake Travis High School as ESPN’s No. 40 overall recruit in the 2020 class — not quite in Ewers’ category but not far off. Although Card must navigate the Ewers hype around the Texas program, he also has the opportunity to outplay him and win the job. Murphy is an ESPN 300 prospect from California, who likely will be a good insurance option for this fall. – Adam Rittenberg
While much of the attention has surrounded Ewers this offseason, the Longhorns have to feel comfortable with the two other talented signal-callers at the position if for some reason Ewers suffers an injury or doesn’t live up to the expectations.
When you factor in the likelihood that Texas is also in a solid position to land five-star Arch Manning in the 2023 class, the Longhorns should finally have depth and talent at quarterback for the foreseeable future.
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