The Texas quarterback battle this offseason between Quinn Ewers and Hudson Card is one of the most publicized competitions in the country.
Card is a third-year player who was originally announced as the starter under Steve Sarkisian last season, only to get pulled in Week 2 against Arkansas due to struggles.
Many feel that Card possesses all the talent to be an elite quarterback at this level, he just needs to have a better feel in the pocket and take on more of a leadership role.
On the other hand, Ewers was a perfectly rated recruit coming out of high school. He has yet to attempt a pass at the college level, therefore he lacks experience compared to Card, but his potential is through the roof.
Many national media analysts believe it’s his job to lose. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg recently dove into the top quarterback battles across the country and predicted who would win each competition.
For the Longhorns, Rittenberg believes Ewers will take the first snap for Texas in Week 1.
Ewers is one of the bigger names in college football despite not taking a meaningful game snap at this level. An unquestionably elite recruit — he ranked No. 1 in ESPN’s list of 2022 prospects — Ewers initially committed to Texas, switched to Ohio State and then reclassified so he could start his name, image and likeness clock early last fall. The Southlake, Texas, product returns to his home state, where the attention isn’t going away. He competed this spring with Card, who won last year’s quarterback competition with Casey Thompson, ultimately lost the top job but then played significant snaps in late-season losses to Iowa State and West Virginia. Card had 590 pass yards with five touchdowns and one interception, but he also took 10 sacks.
The third-year sophomore has a clear experience edge over Ewers but didn’t pull away this spring and will need a solid camp to win the starting job. Both quarterbacks showed in practice they can attack downfield. Ewers delighted the spring game crowd with a 62-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Isaiah Neyor. “Quinn had a really good spring,” coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We saw the playmaking ability that he has. He can make just about every throw. Now it’s going through some of those growing pains that any young quarterback would have that come into our system. How far he can take it, we’ll see.”
Week 1 starter prediction: Ewers. I’m not ready to anoint Ewers as a Heisman Trophy contender or the next Trevor Lawrence-like college quarterback. Card brings more experience to the field and absolutely could win the job again in camp. The on-field buzz about Ewers this spring was mixed. But Ewers has a higher ceiling than Card, and Sarkisian has a chance to start his clock with a schedule that opens against Louisiana-Monroe before Alabama visits Austin on Sept. 10. I wouldn’t be surprised to see both quarterbacks play early.
Regardless of who is ultimately chosen as the starter for the season opener, Sarkisian has to feel confident in both signal-callers to lead this team in 2022 if called upon. After all, the backup is only one play away from receiving meaningful snaps.
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