Sark Officially Picks Card As Longhorns QB - Here's Why

Steve Sarkisian has named his first starting quarterback as the Texas Longhorns head coach

Matt Galatzan | Aug 29, 2021

Steve Sarkisian has plenty of decisions to make before the Longhorns kick off their season opener at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 4.

Chief among those is at the quarterback position, where Casey Thompson and Hudson Card have been battling for the starting spot since Sam Ehlinger (who by the way sustained a knee injury for the Colts on Friday) entered his name into the NFL Draft this past spring.

On Wednesday, LonghornsCountry.com reported Sarkisian leaning toward Card as the starter.

That decision became official on Friday night, with Sarkisian naming Hudson Card as the team's starting quarterback for Week 1.

Both Card and Thompson are expected to see the field in the opener.

Card had managed to separate himself from in recent days, due to his decision making, his ability to take care of the football, and his ability to extend plays with his feet.

More than that, however, Card has an innate ability to shake off mistakes and move on to the next play with a clear mind -- something Elite 11 president Brian Stumpf told us about in an exclusive interview this spring.

"He has a ton of upside and Texas fans should be excited about him," Stumpf said. "He's going to be able to shake off an incompletion or a bad series or that sort of stuff. He'll get to the sideline, decompress on it, and then it's flushed down the toilet and we're on to the next play. I think he's just really even-keeled."

In his career with the Longhorns, Card has played in just two games, completing 1-of-2 passes for five yards, and rushing two times for three yards in the Alamo Bowl win over Colorado last season.

Card also made an appearance in the 59-3 win over UTEP on September 12, going 0-for-1 through the air, and rushing two times for seven yards.

As one of the Nation's top dual-threat quarterback prospects in the 2020 class, the Lake Travis (Austin, TX) product will be the second-straight Austin-area native to start under center for the Longhorns, after Westlake's Ehlinger occupied the spot since a September 9 matchup against San Jose State in 2017.

Despite missing six games in his senior season at Lake Travis, Card was a jack of all trades for the Cavaliers, completing 144-of-219 passes (65.8%) for 2,288 yards and 24 touchdowns, throwing just five interceptions, and finishing fourth on the team in rushing with 281 yards and five touchdowns.

Card also served as the team's punter, punting 17 times for 586 yards (34.5 ypp), and even saw time as the team's punt returner, returning five punts for 156 years in a single game against Austin Martin.

That season, Card helped Lake Travis to a 13-2 overall record, including a district title, and an appearance in the 6A Division 1 state semifinals.

Card parlayed that season into being named an Under Armour All-American selection, and the Nation's No. 3 dual-threat quarterback.

In a fully healthy junior season, Card was tabbed first-team All-District 25-6A , completing 250-of-369 passes (67.8%) for 3,543 yards and 50 touchdowns with just four interceptions, and finished second on the team in rushing with 619 yards and nine touchdowns.

Card passed for at least three touchdowns in 10 games and at least four touchdowns in eight games that season.

In short, Card has the pedigree, and if he plays within Sarkisian's system, he will have every opportunity to succeed at one of the most scrutinized positions in college football -- The starting quarterback of the Texas Longhorns.

Luckily for Longhorns fans, that is exactly what he intends to do.

"I just try to do what they tell me, do what I'm coached to do, and just take it day by day," Card said last week. "Just be myself, just play within the system and things will take care of themselves."

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Published Aug 29, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.