ESPN's Pete Thamel says Texas QB Quinn Ewers will miss 2-4 weeks with shoulder injury

Texas is starting a new quarterback this week with Quinn Ewers injured, and ESPN’s Pete Thamel joined College GameDay Saturday morning to offer the latest timeline on when the Longhorn star can get back on the field.

As part of his appearance on GameDay, Thamel offered several injury updates, but perhaps none more important the one on Ewers. When asked by Rece Davis what’s the latest on Texas’ QB1, Thamel had to say:

“Yeah, Rece, sources have told me the most realistic timetable for Ewers’ return is going to be 2-4 weeks. I’ve been told he’s rehabbing 24/7. But the reality is, there’s no guarantee he’ll be back for that Kansas State game next week.”

So, still no Ewers and it’s looking like he could potentially miss next weekend’s game as well. In the meantime, a certain freshman will get the starting nod.

“That means the world’s going to get a closeup of Maalik Murphy today. Rece, he’s 6’5, 240 pounds and Steve Sarkisian has said he has the most arm talent of anyone on the team,” Thamel added, noting that Murphy beat out true freshman Arch Manning for the spot.

“Know this about Maalik Murphy: he didn’t flinch when Arch Manning showed up on campus. Everyone expected Maalik Murphy to transfer, but he’s beaten (Manning) out so far and has earned his first career start today.”

Quinn Ewers, who has started every game this year for Texas, was injured during the course of the game versus Houston. On Monday, Sarkisian called him week-to-week due to what’s been reported to be a shoulder injury. Prior to his exit, Ewers was 151-for-213 for 1915 yards and 13 touchdowns over three interceptions on the year. He also has five rushing touchdowns.

As for Murphy, he threw just two total passes after subbing in during the Houston game and is just 4/8 passing on the year with 47 yards. With so little game experience, the redshirt freshman is being tossed right into the fire today.

Sarkisian lays out backup QB plan

On Monday, Sarkisian revealed that the Longhorns will, “go through the week with Maalik Murphy and Arch Manning both getting first-team reps,” but added that Murphy would be the team’s starter if a game was being played right now, according to Inside Texas.

“If the game was being played today, Maalik would start the game,” Sarkisian said, via Inside Texas. “Again, Arch will be ready to go.”

While it’s looking complicated at the moment, Texas is going to be hoping Ewers does not miss a significant amount of time with the shoulder injury and is hopefully closer to the two-week window rather than the four-week one, as Thamel laid out. It would be something they have dealt with in the past, with a similar situation unfolding last season. Sarkisian had to go three games without Ewers in 2022, with Hudson Card taking over.