Texas star quarterback Quinn Ewers will start Saturday's game at TCU following a two-game absence, coach Steve Sarkisian announced Thursday. The redshirt sophomore suffering a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder during the second half of the Longhorns' 31-24 win over Houston on October 21.
"When he came back to practice this week he didn't show a lot of rust - physically or mentally," Sarkisian said. "There wasn't a throw he couldn't make."
Ewers was upgraded this week to "day-to-day" after initially being "week-to-week" with the injury. Backup Maalik Murphy started Texas' last two games -- wins over BYU and Kansas State -- and had 418 yards passing, three touchdowns and three interceptions.
But Ewers clearly elevates the Longhorns offense and was in the Heisman Trophy discussion prior to his injury with 1,915 yards passing and 13 touchdowns to only three interceptions during the first seven games of the year. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder from Southlake, Texas, threw for 349 yards and three touchdowns in the Longhorns' season-defining 34-24 win over No. 8 Alabama in Week 2. That game vaulted the Horns into the top 10 and into the race for the College Football Playoff.
The Longhorns and Horned Frogs will tee it up Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
