'No intent' to hurt Quinn Ewers from Alabama's Dallas Turner

Early in the Big Noon showdown between Alabama and Texas, the Longhorns’ offense was rolling. Quarterback Quinn Ewers looked smooth in less than a quarter and was connecting downfield well with his receivers. Then, an injury changed things when Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner knocked Ewers out of the game.

Turner was also called for roughing the passer, setting Texas up for their first touchdown of the afternoon. However, most of the attention was on Ewers and his injury that will now keep him out for several weeks.

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Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Turner discussed the play, saying there was “no intent” to hurt Ewers. He complimented how the redshirt freshman was playing early in the game before wishing a speedy recovery.

“Honestly, it was no intent to hurt Quinn Ewers,” Turner told reporters. “I feel like he’s a good quarterback, and I hope he has a very speedy recovery. But it was just a QB hit, that’s how I looked at it. So no intent to hurt him or anything like that, no dirty play.”

Before leaving the game, Ewers was nine of 12, throwing for 134 yards. For a player in his second career start in college football, the Ohio State transfer was looking good for the Longhorns. However, he will now miss a few games due to the injury.

Roughing the passer called on Dallas Turner for Quinn Ewers hit

Another aspect of the hit was Turner being flagged for roughing the passer. The Alabama star said he was “very surprised” to see the referee throw the flag but it’s nothing he’s too concerned about moving forward.

“Yeah, I was very surprised to see a flag after that,” said Turner. “But that’s football. Just got to adjust to the game and learn from it.”

As a result of the roughing the passer call, Texas got a first down and eventually evened the score at 10-10 with a new quarterback in the game. Although Alabama hung on for a 20-19 win in the end, questions about the health of a Texas quarterback and the play which caused it will continue to swirl.

Either way, both players will move on until they see each other again next season. Texas will make the return trip to Tuscaloosa early in the 2023 season. Hopefully, we can see another good battle between the two programs where both players are healthy and at full strength.