Joel Klatt weighs in on if Texas has a QB controversy between Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning
Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt didn’t buy into the Texas QB controversy narrative between Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning.
He simply feels head coach Steve Sarkisian will be patient with Ewers’ recovery since Manning played at a high level in relief. Ewers is currently day-to-day.
If Manning shows out, it could be a different story in a few weeks, but Texas certainly has the flexibility when balancing him and Ewers.
“Now, Ewers is week to week, it seems like it’s not going to be a long term thing, which means that Sark gets to play this week to week,” Klatt said on his show. “And guess what? Here’s the benefit … Sark doesn’t have to rush Ewers back. He can make sure that he’s completely healthy. They’ve got ULM … then Mississippi State, then an off week, then they’ve got Red River. So they’ve got all this time to get Ewers healthy if they really feel like they want him back for Red River, and then they’ve got Georgia the following week …
“Now, I don’t believe that this is a quarterback controversy, and I do think that that’s where people are going to go, in particular, from a narrative standpoint.”
Ewers was 14-of-16 passing for 185 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while Manning subbed in and went nine-of-12 passing for 223 yards and four touchdowns. He also had 53 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground.
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“A lot of people around Texas love to have an opinion,” Klatt said. “I’m glad, in this case, that Stark is unwavered by people’s opinion about him or his program. This guy is very comfortable in his own skin, and that’s going to pay huge dividends for him in this situation, because there will be noise now every time that Ewers doesn’t run around, or if he gets sacked, or if he struggles for even a quarter against Oklahoma. Everyone’s gonna be like, ‘Well, put in Arch.’ It’s like, hey … Just relax. Sark gets to ease into Ewers getting healthy, then he gets to just evaluate it. He just gets to purely evaluate it.
“And if Quinn isn’t effective, he’s got a legitimate option. This is a win-win situation for Steve Sarkisian, if he handles it correctly. Because, like I said, the noise can get pretty loud down there around that program, and if he navigates that, this is a team that certainly is going to be where I expected them to be.”
As Klatt pointed out, Texas proved it had depth with Ewers and Manning, now that both got on the field. The next few weeks should be fascinating.