Nick Saban believes Quinn Ewers will be a real challenge for Alabama defense

Quinn Ewers will be getting another chance at Alabama. Last season saw his afternoon end after just two drives, suffering a shoulder injury after being hit by Dallas Turner in the first quarter. The nine of 12 passing for 134 yards had Texas fans certainly wondering ‘what if?’ after losing by just a point.

Nick Saban is now preparing to face Ewers for a second time but will have a little more information this go-round. He believes the Texas quarterback is going to be a challenge for the Alabama defense. The mix of Ewers’ ability with the wide receivers Steve Sarkisian has brought into the program will be something the Crimson Tide have to deal with.

“He’s a really good player,” Saban said on Ewers during Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference. “He’s done a great job with their offense. He read coverages really well, he’s accurate with the ball, got really good skill guys outside, and they’re able to take advantage of that. So, it’s going to be a real challenge for us to affect him, No. 1. But also do a good job of covering their guys.”

Xavier Worthy is a guy Alabama fans learned about last season. He caught five balls for 94 yards during last season’s contest, including a deep ball down the right sideline from Ewers. That set up first and goal before the injury occurred, meaning Hudson Card had to step in.

Adonai Mitchell should be another familiar name, transferring in from Georgia. He will play opposite Worthy most plays and has already opened his account with Ewers, scoring a touchdown in the season opener against Rice. Saban points out how good of a player Ewers is but also knows the outside weapons could really burn Alabama.

Moving back to Ewers, his stat line against Rice finished at 19 or 30 passing for 260 yards and four total touchdowns. But when looking at his passing chart, he was good on the short and intermediate throws. Six passes were over 20 yards, with all of them falling incomplete.

But as previously mentioned and from what we saw from last season, all it takes is one throw to get the confidence back. Quinn Ewers has the capability to burn the Alabama secondary if they do not cover someone like Mitchell or Worthy down the sideline. Saban is going to be ready to defend against everything the Texas offense has to offer.