Steve Sarkisian: QB Quinn Ewers ‘Better Set Up For Success’ in Austin than Ohio State
It was announced last week that Ohio State transfer and former five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers would be the starter for the Texas Longhorns in 2022.
In a rather unorthodox fashion, head coach Steve Sarkisian used a spokesperson to announce that Ewers had won the starting job just hours after it was reported that Hudson Card was in the lead for the position.
While just a redshirt freshman, Ewers appears to be comfortable in his position with Texas, and more comfortable than he was in Columbus last year, according to Sarkisian.
“I don’t know, I think it was a difficult situation,” Sarkisian said this week on The Rich Eisen Show. “He didn’t go to Ohio State last year until, I think they might’ve already started training camp and that’s difficult when you’re a true freshman and you go into a different setting with a bunch of guys you really didn’t get recruited with. You’re kind of behind the eight ball learning a new system and you’re away from home.
“I think for us, naturally he knows some of the guys on this team, being from Texas (and that) makes sense to him. He got himself an entire offseason to get acclimated, I just think all in all, it’s just a better set up for success. I don’t think it’s anything against Ohio State, I just think it was difficult for Ryan (Day) and his team to get him acclimated the way they needed to when we had months to (get him ready).”
While Ewers is uber-talented, just one of a handful of players to ever receive a 1.0000 composite rating from 247Sports, Sarkisian still expects some growing pains from the Texas offense.
“We’re going to have some growing pains,” Sarkisian said in a press conference, per 247Sports’ Chip Brown. “We’re not only young at quarterback, we’re young as a team. … I still think we’re a pretty good team.”
Regardless, Ewers will elevate the Longhorns’ offense if he can reach the level of play that he is capable of, and that is why he won the job.
“He’s a very talented young man and he’s a guy who graduated high school a year early and went to Ohio State last fall and then came to us this spring, so we kind of look at him like he’s the No. 1 player in this year’s class if he would’ve stayed but reclassified and went out,” Sarkisian said. “Since he’s shown up, he’s been a great teammate, he’s been really coachable and he’s just a guy who, quite frankly, can make all the throws. He’s very comfortable in our system of pushing the ball down the field. He’s got a really quick release. I like the leadership.
“I like the way the guys respond to him when he’s in the game. I feel comfortable with the people we have around him at the skill spots that he doesn’t have to be the guy to make all of the plays.”
