Steve Sarkisian gives injury update on Texas quarterbacks Casey Thompson, Hudson Card

Texas ended its season on Friday with a 22-17 victory over Kansas State. The win snapped a six game losing streak for the Longhorns, allowing them to finish 5-7 in Steve Sarkisian’s first season as head coach. Following the game, Sarkisian provided injury updates on Texas quarterbacks Casey Thompson and Hudson Card as the Longhorns enter the offseason.

“So Casey, it’s a pretty significant thumb sprain,” Sarkisian said of Thompson. “There wasn’t anything broken, there wasn’t ligament damage, but it was swollen. It was hard to grip the ball. It’s on your throwing hand, that’s difficult. And so hopefully he can get healthy on that front.”

Thompson was not the team’s starting quarterback to enter the year, but he quickly took over. He put up big numbers at times throughout the year while also struggling with consistency. Overall, Thompson threw for 2,113 yards, 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions, completing 63.2 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 157 yards and four touchdowns.

Sarkisian: Thompson, Card will battle to start at quarterback for Texas last year

Card missed the Kansas State game with an ankle injury. After starting the year as the Longhorns’ starter, Card played sparingly the rest of the way. He attempted 83 passes on the season, completing 51 for 590 yards, five touchdowns and one interception, along with one rushing touchdown.

“Hudson has a high ankle sprain,” Sarkisian said of Card. “I don’t think it” require surgery, but high ankle sprains aren’t fun. They take time to heal. I think he will heal great. So those two are critical.”

As Texas enters the offseason, Sarkisian acknowledged that the battle to be the Longhorns’ starting quarterback will be re-opened.

“We have to open that job up. We have to let those guys compete,” he said in his weekly press conference prior to the Kansas State game.

While both Thompson and Card struggled at times at quarterback for Texas, not all of the issues in the passing game were on the signal callers. Sarkisian would like to clean those things up as well.

“And we have plenty of work to do there,” Sarkisian said earlier in the season. “But I think I have a responsibility to help them to that point, not only fundamentally and understanding the game plan, but also understanding what we call. Then, there’s a responsibility from the receiver standpoint to being where you’re supposed to be on time, and then, ultimately, making plays on the ball. We’ve had a couple plays where the balls hit the ground, not because of the quarterback’s issue. That’s a point of emphasis.

“If you want to be a complementary team, if you want a balanced offense like we want, we’ve got to find that consistency in the passing game.”