JD PicKell: Quinn Ewers must emerge as 'the guy' for Texas
For somebody who has been good with quarterbacks throughout his career, Steve Sarkisian was undecisive with the position last season. Hudson Card originally won the job for Texas to open the season but by the third game of the season, Casey Thompson had taken over. Now, just a year later, Sarkisian is facing another quarterback decision and according to On3’s J.D. PicKell, there’s only one option.
PicKell thinks Ohio State transfer Quinn Ewers should be the starter for Texas, saying he didn’t come back home to sit on the bench. However, the difference compared to last year was the changing of who is the headman. If Ewers is the guy for the season opener on Sept. 3, he also needs to be the guy in the season finale on Nov. 26.
“You can expect stability at quarterback because you need it,” PicKell said. “It is a prerequisite to success. Quinn Ewers need to be the guy for you. He needs to be the guy in Game One, he needs to be the guy in Game 12, he needs to be the guy beyond.
“Because if you have two quarterbacks, you have none. That’s the way that works, that’s the math there. For Quinn Ewers, he didn’t come to Austin to sit. He’s not there to hold a clipboard. Quinn Ewers came here to be the guy.”
Steve Sarkisian needs to make Quinn Ewers feel like “the guy”
It felt like a short leash for Card last season, losing his job after one bad start against Arkansas. PicKell does not want a similar scenario this year, saying Sarkisian needs to make Ewers feel like he is “the guy” and a couple of mistakes won’t cost him, at least in the short term.
“Now, he needs to feel like he’s the guy because when you’re the starting quarterback and you’re a play away, you don’t feel like the starting quarterback. That’s not really committing to somebody. That’s ‘hey, we’re with you, we’ll ride with you until you make a bad decision.’ Now if there is a continued track record or continued exemplification to have poor play on the field, well then you can maybe talk about it. You do some more to coddle him and help him. But I would have to see that over the course of like 10 games.”
Ewers has only played a couple snaps of college football and all of them have not been significant. He has yet to even throw attempt a throw. If he does end up winning the job in Austin, PicKell wants Sarkisian to go with his freshman quarterback along the potential roller coaster.
PicKell wants Texas to support young QB throughout process
PicKell explained when you have the backing of the team, it can lead to some better play on the field. If Ewers is going to live up to his high Five-Star Plus+ potential, he will need the support of not just his head coach but his teammates. Confidence will equal success as he develops throughout the season.
“Bottom line, you got to stick with Quinn Ewers through the ups and the downs,” PicKell said. “If he doesn’t play great off the bat, stick with him. Allow him to go through these growing pains. Allow him to mature as a quarterback. That’s why you brought him to Austin, that’s why he’s there. When you feel the freedom as a starting quarterback, to know ‘I can make a mistake, I can make two mistakes and they’re still going to stick with me?’
“You just play more free, you play more outside of yourself, you play more within the system. You just know you have the support of your team behind you and that does wonders for your confidence. Confidence is a prerequisite to quarterback success.”