Is Quinn Ewers playing today? Texas QB's availability for Week 8 explored
As No. 1 Texas prepares for a massive battle with No. 5 Georgia, the status of Longhorn QB Quinn Ewers is a significant matter. After all, it was Ewers who led the Horns to their first berth in the College Football Playoff last year.
However, the veteran passer has had injury woes, and there are signs he could be getting eclipsed on his own sideline. Here's the latest on Ewers.
Quinn Ewers Injury update
Ewers has been cleared to play. His prior injury issues did not stop him from returning to the lineup last week against Oklahoma. While Ewers showed signs of rust from spending nearly a month on the bench, his performance wasn't bad enough to jeopardize his starting job.
Ewers is healthy and available for tomorrow's battle against Georgia. However, his performance may be a bigger concern than his injury. Much like the famous story of New York Yankee Wally Pipp, who lost his spot to Lou Gehrig after a minor injury, Ewers faces similar pressure. In his case, the potential replacement is freshman phenom Arch Manning.
The highly touted freshman started two games while Ewers was healing and has posted better passing stats than Ewers. Manning is also a competent runner at the quarterback position, which is not a forte of Ewers. Should Ewers struggle against Georgia, there will likely be calls from the Texas fan base for Manning to take over.
What Happened to Quinn Ewers?
In Texas's Week 3 win over Texas-San Antonio, Ewers contorted his body while whipping a pass downfield. He sustained what was later termed an abdominal injury, and while there was no contact involved, Texas and coach Steve Sarkisian sidelined Ewers for the rest of that game plus the next two. He then returned to the lineup last week against Oklahoma.
Backup Arch Manning started against Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State before Ewers was cleared to return to action. This wasn't Ewers's first injury battle. Ewers previously missed time with shoulder injuries, sitting out three games in 2022 and two games in 2023.
How has Ewers been playing?
Ewers's 2024 season has been solid, though sometimes unspectacular. For the year, Ewers is edging out Arch Manning in completion percentage (72.2% to 70.5%), while both have thrown nine touchdowns. However, Manning averages three yards per pass more than Ewers and has thrown one less interception.
Ewers hasn’t faced a challenge like Georgia this season, and the outcome could define both his season and the team’s.
What do you think of Quinn Ewers and his status on Saturday? Share your thoughts below in our comments section!