Report: Texas names Hudson Card starting quarterback for 2021 season

Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian will reportedly name redshirt freshman Hudson Card the starting quarterback for the 2021 season. The decision ends the competitive quarterback duel between Card and junior Casey Thompson, which has dominated the headlines throughout the offseason.

“Hudson Card has been named the starting QB at Texas for the opener against Louisiana,” Bruce Feldman tweeted. “Coaches inside the UT program gush about Card’s skills.”

Inside Texas confirmed the report shortly after Feldman tweeted the news on Saturday.

Card played in two games as a freshman, making his collegiate debut in the 2020 season opener against UTEP. He has completed one pass for five yards in his career, adding four carries for 11 yards.

“We’re probably in a better position at the quarterback position than a lot of people because I really believe we have two guys that can play,” Sarkisian said previously about his quarterbacks. “I believe in having a starter and having a backup. But man, when you know I’ve got a backup that can play at a high level and operate our offense the way we want to operate, that’s really a luxury for us. There’s a lot of teams that maybe have a returning starter who’s a frontline guy, but their backup might not be very capable. Well, we’re in a pretty good position that way.”

Respect in the quarterback room

Thompson will be disappointed not the earn the starting job, but the former four-star recruit was high on his competition throughout the process. Thompson compared Card to a former Longhorns quarterback earlier this month.

“Hud does a good job of finding his arm angles and arm slots. I don’t know if he played baseball or not, but he does a really good job of that,” Thompson said. “Similar to Shane Buechele.”

He continued: “Whether he has laces or no laces, he does a good job at that. So that’s why I really think he’s doing well right now. It’s just finding good arm angles to throw the football and getting it out.”

Buechele played well his freshman year at Texas in 2016, throwing for 21 touchdowns. However, he lost the starting job to Sam Ehlinger before eventually transferring to SMU in 2019. He finished his college career strong in the AAC, throwing for 57 touchdowns in two years.

New starting quarterback Hudson Card returned the favor by showering praise on Thompson’s ability to visualize what he learned while on the field.

“I’d say taking the classroom to the field. At the end of the day, we’re competing against one another, but it makes us better as players and as competitors,” Card said. “We’re just trying to push each other each and every day. Just going day by day, old school.”