Steve Sarkisian will start Casey Thompson at quarterback against Rice

Steve Sarkisian announced Casey Thompson will get the starting nod against Rice over Hudson Card, but both will play.

Steve Sarkisian has made a move at quarterback after Saturday’s brutal display against Arkansas.

The head coach announced on Monday that Casey Thompson will get the nod against Rice over Hudson Card. Both quarterbacks have played in the first two games of the season and produced at certain points.

Card was named the initial starter after winning the competition over the past eight months. Sarkisian claims the battle was close throughout, even calling it one of the hardest decisions he ever had to make.

Sarkisian says Card will still get playing time against the Owls. He has said the same thing about Thompson the previous two weeks and stayed true to his word. Switches have come sometime in the third quarter on both occasions.

Thompson came on late against the Razorbacks and was able to get the offense moving. Texas scored 14 points during his two drives. Both were 75 yards downfield and took at least 10 plays.

Card struggled throughout the game. The offensive line was not great but the redshirt freshman missed on a few throws as well. In just his second career start, playing in a hostile environment did not help Card’s cause.

“I thought Hudson was a little antsy in the pocket,” Sarkisian said. “We weren’t great at protecting him early in the game, but we missed some opportunities.”

Against a weaker opponent, it will be difficult to judge the two going into Big 12 play.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.