Steve Sarkisian addresses how Hudson Card's experience factors into quarterback competition

In at least one area, Hudson Card is already ahead of Quinn Ewers in the Texas quarterback competition. Having spent last season in Austin under Steve Sarkisian, Card is plenty familiar with the Longhorns playbook.

In a recent interview following spring practice, Sarkisian addressed how that experience will factor in as Card battles with the former five-star prospect for the starting job.

“That’s natural,” the coach said. “He got a spring, a fall camp and a season. Quinn has gotten winter conditioning and now he’s just finishing practice No. 7. But with the way we install, they can really focus just on what we’re doing today. They don’t have to know everything that this offense is, can be or has ever done. They need to focus on what we install for the day. Then they go to the next day and they need to focus on what we’re doing today and that previous day. That how we can kind of build.

“I think when we can compartmentalize it that way, it makes it a little easier on Quinn of just focusing on what we’re doing for the day. Not everything all at once. It also allows Hudson to say, ‘Yes, I know what we’re doing today, but here’s some of the auxiliary things off of that.’ He can start thinking of where we might be going.”

Card began last season as the starter for Texas, though his stint would be short-lived. Following a Week 2 loss to Arkansas, Sarkisian opted to bench Card in favor of redshirt junior Casey Thompson. Card finished the season with 590 yards passing, five touchdowns and one interception while appearing in seven games.

The Longhorns added Ewers from Ohio State this offseason, prompting Thompson to transfer to Nebraska and creating a two-man race for the starting job. The No. 1 quarterback in the 2021 class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average, Ewers seems the favorite at the moment. He appeared in only one game for the Buckeyes in 2021, so will join Texas as a redshirt freshman.

Despite the hype surrounding Ewers, however, Hudson Card isn’t out of the quarterback competition yet. Both players will get a chance to prove themselves against each other when the Longhorns host their annual spring game on April 23.