Steve Sarkisian is sticking to his guns. The first-year head coach told the media on Monday that Casey Thompson will remain the starter going forward.
The announcement comes just days after Texas lost their third consecutive game in which they have blown double-digit leads.
Going to Thompson after Hudson Card’s struggles against Arkansas may have been a tad premature considering Card is just a freshman that was starting his second career game, and the team as a whole played terribly against the Razorbacks.
However, it was understandable at the time because Thompson was much more decisive, made plays with his legs, and was putting points on the board. Thompson then benefited from playing Rice, Texas Tech, and TCU who have a combined 11-14 record, and two of those teams have since fired their head coach.
Sark says Casey Thompson will remain the starter at quarterback. "I think Casey has done some good things for us…Hudson (Card) is chomping at the bit for another opportunity, so we'll see where it goes from here."
— Craig Way (@craigway1) November 1, 2021
Thompson has been all over the place the past couple weeks, as he had a statistically great game against Oklahoma that saw him throw five touchdowns, but it has been his second half performances that have many questioning if he is the right guy to be behind center. If you look at his splits from the first half of games and the second half of games, it has been a complete Jackal and Hyde performance.
In the first half, Thompson is statistically one of the best players in the nation, but as soon as halftime ends, he struggles immediately. In first half of games, he has accumulated 11 passing touchdowns, 934 passing yards, and is completing 66% of his passes. However, his numbers take a major hit in the second half of games, as he has 620 yards, six touchdowns, and his completion percentage drops to 61%.
This can also be attributed to the horrible offensive line and wide receiver drops, or perhaps Steve Sarkisian and his staff not accounting for adjustments by other teams. However, this Week 10 matchup against Iowa State will be a major test for a Longhorns offense that is second half deficient, as the Cyclones are home to the No. 5 defense in the nation in terms of total defense.
If the Longhorns lose this game, and Thompson has another roller coaster performance where he is missing throws and making costly mistakes, it may be time for Card to reassume the starting job. While Sarkisian did say Thompson is the starter, he did not rule out that Card will play or start again.
They will play two of the worst teams in the Big 12 in Kansas and West Virginia, and finish the season off with a tough Kansas State team before a bowl game, assuming they make one. What better time to give the quarterback of the future time to grow and gain more experience?
Sarkisian has reiterated multiple times he doesn’t want to switch quarterbacks, but it was obvious from the jump that he never truly knew which quarterback to trust, as he made them split time against Louisiana well before the game was truly out of reach. Sarkisian seems to be suffering from not wanting to be wrong again about the starting quarterback, and it might be hurting a team that was once expected to contend for the Big 12 Championship.