Longhorns' Quinn Ewers 'Pretty Comfortable' for Alabama Game

A potential big difference for the Texas Longhorns against Alabama will be the development of quarterback Quinn Ewers.

After successfully defeating Rice 37-10 in the season-opener, the Texas Longhorns have begun preparations for potentially the game of the year in college football. They will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday in a rematch from last season's finish, a game that somewhat surprisingly came down to the final seconds. 

This time, though, things seem to be different. Expectations for this Longhorn team are much higher than they were just a season ago. Part of that is due to entering Year 3 under coach Steve Sarkisian and his ability to stack multiple top-5 recruiting classes, combined with the return of starting quarterback Quinn Ewers.

Despite an up-and-down first season as the Horns' quarterback, many predicted over the offseason that he'd make a leap in his second season under Sarkisian, something that has been a historical trend for signal-caller in the offense. And while the season-opener may not have given him many opportunities to show that growth from last season, it is hard to imagine he won't have that chance against the Crimson Tide.

"You know, this time last year, going into this game, I don't think I had a whole lot of thought to it because it was still pretty new for me," Ewers said about the biggest difference from last season. "[The] whole college football deal and the tempo of it and whatnot, but no, like I've been saying, I'm pretty comfortable with where I'm at."

It is exactly what Longhorn fans want to hear, especially considering how he played against the Crimson Tide last year. Before the shoulder injury that sidelined him for two games, Ewers had one of his strongest showings. In his 20 snaps before the injury, he completed 9 of 12 passes for 134 yards.

Many fans feel that Texas would've been able to upset the Tide if it weren't for Ewers getting hurt. However, when asked about the potential for "unfinished business" on Saturday, Ewers said he was approaching it like any other game.

We'll see just how the Longhorns approach one of the season's toughest tests on Saturday.