TEXAS Longhorns star Quinn Ewers has skipped his regular press conference – following a decision over the quarterback position.
The 21-year-old is the first choice at the college, with Arch Manning, nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli, his backup.
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (right) with Quinn Ewers (left)[/caption]
There have been rumors Ewers could be benched and replaced as the starter, following a mixed season.
It comes after a 30-15 home loss against bitter rivals the Georgia Bulldogs in Week 8.
He also missed a large part of the campaign with an abdominal strain, picked up in college football Week 3.
During the Longhorns defeat to the Bulldogs last Saturday, Manning briefly came in for Ewers.
That happened in the second quarter, with Texas trailing their rivals 20-0.
He eventually returned and started the entire second half, but couldn’t stop his team losing.
Ewers completed 25 of his 43 passes for 211 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
There have been rumors of plans to switch out the quarterbacks.
Ewers didn’t attent his regular scheduled press conference with the media this week.
And it added fuel to claims he is not happy in Texas, two days after his benching.
There have even been wild claims he might sit out the rest of the year to prepare for the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Longhorns face No25 seed Vanderbilt in Week 9, and head coach Steve Sarkisian opened up on his QB situation.
“Quinn’s our starting quarterback,” he said.
“I appreciate the fact we’re fortunate enough to have a backup like Arch that could come into the game and provide a spark in some sense.
College football top 25 rankings
BELOW are the top 25 rankings of college football’s best programs for Week 8
- Oregon (7-0)
- Georgia (6-1)
- Penn State (6-0)
- Ohio State (5-1)
- Texas (6-1)
- Miami (7-0)
- Tennessee (6-1)
- LSU (6-1)
- Clemson (6-1)
- Iowa State (7-0)
- BYU (7-0)
- Notre Dame (6-1)
- Indiana (7-0)
- Texas A&M (6-1)
- Alabama (5-2)
- Kansas State (6-1)
- Boise State (5-1)
- Ole Miss (5-2)
- Pittsburgh (6-0)
- Illinois (6-1)
- Missouri (6-1)
- SMU (6-1)
- Army (7-0)
- Navy (6-0)
- Vanderbilt (5-2)
“At the end of the day, Quinn’s our starter.
“I think, like I said, we’ve got to do a better job around him.
“I think he would tell you he can play better, but we’ve got to coach better.
“Everybody’s got to be better for our offense to perform better.”
Sarkisian claimed he temporarily benched Ewers for Manning against the Bulldogs to help his starting quarterback regroup.
“My feeling in the game was I felt Quinn was a little uneasy,” he said.
“I felt like giving him a chance to kind of step back and regroup.
“I didn’t know if we’d get a series or two with Arch depending on how much time was remaining in the half on the clock.
“So we told Quinn we’re going to go with Arch here and give you a chance to get into the locker room.
“Let’s regroup and then come back out in the second half, and so that’s what we did.
“I felt like it was effective. Quinn came out and played a much better second half and played well in the third quarter.”
