Steve Sarkisian on working with Quinn Ewers to control arm strength

The Texas Longhorns face lofty expectations in year two of the Steve Sarkisian era and great quarterback play is key to meeting those standards. The former Alabama offensive coordinator brought in former five-star prospect Quinn Ewers to give returner Hudson Card a heavy dose of competition.

This spring, Sarkisian has worked with Ewers personally, using his quarterback coaching roots to his advantage. The former Buckeyes freshman showed early and often in high school that he had a cannon, but the Longhorns head coach is working with him to balance power with finesse, accuracy and consistency.

“I always remind him, ‘What’s the goal when we call a pass play?’ ‘To complete the pass,'” Sarkisian said to the media on Tuesday. “You want to have enough tools in your toolkit to get the ball completed. That may be different arm angles, different trajectories, or different velocities on the ball. It’s one thing to have the tool to have the big arm, but the really good quarterbacks show touch, arm angles, I think Quinn has that. He’s shown the variability to make throws when we need it. I don’t think he shows off his arm that much – he’s a passer, not a thrower.

Sarkisian also shared that he showed the whole quarterback room tape of former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan on Monday Night Football. The goal was to show how he takes command to get his wide receivers lined up and show leadership.

Sarkisian shares how Marcus Washington can take next step

Sarkisian wants to see junior wideout Marcus Washington take the next step at Texas in 2022. In a media availability earlier this week, Sarkisian detailed what Washington can do to advance his career with the Longhorns.

“I think Marcus, you know, one thing I love about him — he loves football,” started Sarkisian. “That guy plays hard. I know you guys don’t ever like to talk about it, but special teams-wise, that guy was a tremendous player for us. Early on in the year, he created a lot of value for himself. A, on special teams. And B, kind of as a blocker in the run game, and on the perimeter stuff.

“Like anything, for Marcus, for him to grow and take it to the next level, and I know I say this a lot, but consistency, right? Consistency catching the ball. Being where you’re supposed to be. You know, maybe not taking some penalties, because he’s so aggressive. He got a couple of holding penalties on the perimeter. … So, that’s drill work. That’s ball work. That’s fundamentals.

“But it’s never about the want-to with Marcus, man. His intent — he brings it everyday. It shows. I think he’s earned a lot of the respect of his teammates by the way he attacks special teams, and attacks kind of the dirty work at the receiver position. Not just catching the go-balls, and the touchdowns and things like that.”

Last season, Washington set new career highs for all receiving statistics for himself at Texas. However, he still only caught 18 passes. Evidently, he’s hoping to be more involved as the 2022 season approaches.

On3’s Stephen Samra contributed to this report.