Quinn's back: Ewers to start Saturday vs. TCU 2 weeks after shoulder injury
AUSTIN (KXAN) — After sitting out two weeks with an injury to his throwing shoulder, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers will start Saturday night in Fort Worth against TCU.
During Thursday's media availability, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said that Ewers, "had a great week of practice."
"I feel very comfortable with his ability to operate the offense," Sarkisian said. "He, his family and our medical team feel very good about where he's at health-wise, so we're looking forward to having him back."
Texas won both starts by backup quarterback Maalik Murphy 35-6 over BYU and a wild 33-30 overtime win against then-No. 23 Kansas State. Sarkisian said Murphy gained quality experience and that will bode well for the future in the event that Ewers gets banged up again.
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"We're very fortunate that Maalik got those two starts under his belt," Sarkisian said. "We've got a really quality backup that has won two ballgames for us. We're fortunate in the position we're in, but it'll be great to have No. 3 back out there."
Sarkisian said Ewers' approach to his injury, which was reported to be a sprained AC joint, was "professional."
"There wasn't a lot of rust when he got back to practice this week," Sarkisian said. "He got stronger as the week went on, and he went out the past two days and there wasn't a throw that he couldn't make."
In Murphy's two starts this season, he's 35-for-62 for 418 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He's shown flashes of brilliance with a big arm and some nice touch on deep passes, but he's also shown his youth at times, throwing some bad balls and interceptions.
Last season Ewers was out for three weeks with an injury to his left throwing, his non-throwing side, and came back on the field with a vengeance. He led the Longhorns to a 49-0 drubbing of rival Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, and despite what TCU's record is, Sarkisian said they're in for a fight under the lights Saturday.
"You can get caught looking at their record and think they aren't very good, but they've been a lot of tough and tight games," Sarkisian said. "When we turned on the tape, they definitely had our attention. We didn't play very well against them a year ago, and the players want to put their best foot forward on the road."