Steve Sarkisian highlights what he wants to see from Quinn Ewers, Hudson Card in Saturday scrimmage

A key next step for the Texas quarterback battle is coming up with their scrimmage on Saturday. Quinn Ewers and Hudson Card will each get their own offense to try making an impression on Steve Sarkisian. It could be a deciding factor to determine who will be under center for Texas come the opener.

Sarkisian broke down what he would be looking for in the scrimmage between the two during media availability on Thursday. He says he wants to see all the quarterback intangibles. However, he also wants to see fluidity in certain circumstances both will each encounter on Saturday,

“Execution, decision making, accuracy, leadership, body language. Understanding the special situations that arise in the scrimmage. Third downs, red area, two minute drills,” said Sarkisian. “There’s gonna be a lot of different scenarios that come up and how they manage those situations as they show themselves in the scrimmage as opposed to in practice when we’re going to do a drill”

Both enter the competition with plenty of talent. It’s the processing side of the game, though, that he wants to see Ewers and Card excel in. The mental game of getting the team in a position to succeed anywhere on the field starts with the QB. If either can show that this weekend, one of them may give themselves the inside track in Sarkisian’s decision.

“When you’re playing football, it could a 3rd and 9 situation which you’ve got to tap into and convert it. Now all of a sudden you’re in the red zone and so your brain has to shift to the situation that we’re in. That’s overall for a team,” said Sarkisian. “We’re really trying to understand the situations that make up the game. The quarterbacks are the ones at the forefront of all that understanding in operating at a high level when those situations come up.”

Saturday could be the day where one of Ewers or Card edges out the other for the starting job against UL Monroe on September 3rd. It won’t take just talent, though. Steve Sarkisian will be looking for a leader both on and off the field. Whoever shows they can get their ducks in a row under the pressure of live action will be the next Longhorn starter this fall.