Longhorns QB Quinn Ewers Primed for Alamo Bowl Breakout vs. Washington

Following an up-and-down first season, Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian has full faith in quarterback Quinn Ewers ahead of the Alamo Bowl.

When Quinn Ewers announced he would be transferring to Texas following his freshman year at Ohio State, it was seen as one of the biggest recruiting wins in Steve Sarkisian's time in Austin. 

After all, when you're considered one of the best recruits in the history of recruiting services, it's a big deal for whoever lands you. That lucky team just so happened to be the Longhorns entering their second season under Sarkisian. 

What transpired in Ewers' first season as a Longhorn was what you'd expect from a freshman taking his first meaningful snaps at the college level - up-and-down performances. 

When he was on, he was on. Against Alabama Ewers threw for 134 yards on 9-of-12 passing. No, that wasn't his final stat line, but his stat line in less than a quarter of play before exiting with an injury. 

Upon his return from injury? Just your typical ho-hum, 289 yards and four touchdowns on 21 of 31 passing. Of course, he did struggle as well. Most notably against Oklahoma State, which saw him go 19-for-49 for 319 yards, with two touchdowns and three interceptions against the Cowboys.

All in all, Ewers finished his first season throwing for 1,808 yards with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 56.6 percent of his passes in just nine games.

Sarkisian was proud of how his young quarterback handled that adversity though, and of his ability to bounce back.

"One thing that is hard when you’re a young player and you have some instant success is that you think you do have it figured out," Sarkisian said. "There’s a lot that goes into playing quarterback at this level, and whether it’s on the field, off the field, fighting through adversity, persevering through adversity, and I think Quinn has had to do that."

Now, though, Ewers will have to step up even more in the Alamo Bowl as the Longhorns take on a potent Washington team. Without the running back duo of Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, the Longhorns will look to Ewers to get it done, with Sarkisian noting how well he's performed in practices leading up to Thursday.

"The past couple weeks he’s probably thrown the ball and we’ve executed the passing game better than we have for the last couple months, quite frankly," Sarkisian said. "

"That’s encouraging because I think that a lot of that is his buy-in, his want-to, his commitment to it. Not that he wasn’t committed before, but there’s another level of commitment that you go to as a player." 

Ewers' first season as a Longhorn, while inconsistent, showed a lot of reason to be positive. If he can build on the highs, as most freshman do, then he could be something special for Texas. 

Most importantly, though, Sarkisian praised his perseverance when handling difficult stretches of play. 

"We live in a world of instant gratification, and perseverance is kind of a little bit of a lost trait," Sarkisian said. "But when you see guys that have it and you see them fight through, I think there’s another level of gratification that you can go to, and I think Quinn has seen that, and we’ve seen it in him."

The Alamo Bowl will not define the entirety of Ewers' career at Texas, but it is an opportunity for him to put the country on notice and take that next step as a quarterback.

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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