Steve Sarkisian reveals Quinn Ewers remains week-to-week
Coming off of a victory over the BYU Cougars, the Texas Longhorns and Steve Sarkisian are beginning their College Football Playoff run.
Many obstacles have been thrown in the Longhorns way, including an injury to starting quarterback Quinn Ewers. Ahead of a showdown against Kansas State this weekend, Sarkisian provided some insight into when the stud pass thrower could return.
“From an injury update, [Quinn] Ewers, [Ethan] Burke and [Jalen] Catalon are still all week-to-week,” Sarkisian remarked.
That’s seemingly pretty positive from the Longhorns leader. Perhaps Ewers could suit up for the ranked showdown against the defending Big 12 champions.
In Ewers stead, it was Maalik Murphy who got the call for Texas against the Cougars. In the end, Murphy played well in his first career start despite some inconsistencies.
Following the victory, Sarkisian broke down the performance of Murphy in the game, including his ability to overcome a couple of early turnovers.
“I thought he bounced great,” Sarkisian stated. “They were a little unorthodox. Both turnovers were, quite frankly, unfortunate for him. The first one, we had a bit of a miscommunication and we didn’t get a route from the receiver on the front side. So, now, he gets a little bit of pressure, and that’s some of the growing pains as a quarterback.
“Sometimes you’ve got to eat the ball, take the sack, and not just kind of try to throw it, especially when you’re getting hit.”
Moreover, Texas beat BYU 35-6, with the game being relatively close into the fourth quarter. For his part, Murphy threw for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He also had an interception.
“The second one, we’re in a max protection and I think our running back and guard run into each other and we don’t block the defensive end. Probably had a pretty good chance at a touchdown pass. That’s some of the growing pains that sometimes you’ve got to eat it,” Sarkisian said.
“We’ve got to execute better around him, but the way that he responded from both of those two turnovers I thought was great. Maalik has got really good composure about him. I think a little bit was the guys wanted to play so well around him and sometimes you can try a little too hard. You’re trying to make up for other stuff.
“We just need guys to do their jobs and do their jobs really well. But I was proud of Maalik and the way he responded.”
Time will tell if it’s Quinn Ewers or Maalik Murphy against Kansas State, but the confidence remains high for the Longhorns moving forward regardless.