AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers practiced Monday but remains questionable to play with an abdomen strain when the No. 1 Longhorns face Mississippi State in their Southeastern Conference opener, coach Steve Sarkisian said.
Ewers sat out last weekend’s 51-3 win over Louisiana-Monroe, and Arch Manning threw two touchdowns and two interceptions in earning his first career victory as a starter.
And if Ewers can’t play Saturday against Mississippi State (1-3, 0-1), it will be Manning leading the Longhorns (4-0) into the program’s first game in the SEC.
Ewers was injured in the first half of Texas’ win over UTSA. He at first laid on the field, then walked slowly to the sideline medical tent before leaving the field. He was on the sideline with the Longhorns on Saturday but was not in uniform.
The injury came on a long pass and was not caused by contact, Sarkisian has said.
“He (Ewers) has got to do enough to show me he can play. Can he execute the game plan?” Sarkisian said. “I want to make sure he’s healthy enough to play at a high level.”
Ewers “keeps getting incrementally better,” Sarkisian said.
Sarkisian said he trusts Ewers to be honest with him about any pain he feels when deciding whether to play this week or continue to rest.
“The beauty of it for Quinn and I is our time together (and) him having to come back from injuries previously,” Sarkisian said.
Ewers has missed two games each of the previous two seasons with sternum and shoulder injuries. After playing Mississippi State, Texas will have a week off before facing rival Oklahoma in the annual matchup in Dallas.
Ewers may be anxious to get back on the field. He opted to return to Texas this season instead of entering the NFL draft last spring, and has garnered early-season attention as a Heisman Trophy contender after Texas dominated Michigan in Week 2.
“Him being honest with me, is in his best interest, in our best interest,” Sarkisian said. “I’ll do everything in my power to put him in the best position to be successful if he plays. And if he doesn’t, what does that look like moving forward?”
Manning, a second-year freshman, has shown he is more than capable of leading Texas if Ewers remains out another week.
He dazzled with five touchdown passes and a 67-yard touchdown run against UTSA. His game against Louisiana-Monroe was an uneven follow-up with two interceptions and some missed throws in a night with a 52% completion rate. Several other passes were thrown into tight coverage.
After the game, Manning rated his first career start as a “C-plus.”
Sarkisian has noted that when Ewers is healthy enough to return, he remains the starter.
“Arch believes in his ability and he’s going to take his (deep) shots. And we’ve reaped the benefits of it,” Sarkisian said. “But he’ll learn some of those explosive plays are checkdowns.”
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