Texas Coach Steve Sarkisian Gives QB Quinn Ewers Honest Advice Following Oklahoma State Loss
Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian has always been blunt with his players. The name of the game is to win, and sub-.500 seasons won't cut it in Austin.
Sarkisian though has a soft spot for quarterbacks. A former gunslinger himself from BYU, the Longhorns coach knows first-hand how much pressure can fall on the shoulders of a signal-caller when things begin to unravel.
During the bye week, Sarkisian sat down to have a brutally honest conversation with quarterback Quinn Ewers. Sarkisian was firm, but relaxed when discussing the recent struggles, letting Ewers know that everyone has a "weak" moment in their career.
His message? It's all about the response and how one can overcome adversity. That's what Ewers will try to do this Saturday in Manhattan against No. 13 Kansas State.
“My biggest thing for Quinn is ... that playing quarterback, when you win you probably get too much credit and when you lose you probably get too much blame," Sarkisian said Monday at his weekly press conference. "And you have to be careful to ride that emotional roller coaster of the highs and the lows of the perception from the outside."
"You need to go to work every single day and keep the noise quiet and know that myself, the coaching staff, the team is in the foxhole with him and will go to battle with him every day.”
Ewers still is learning the ropes of playing quarterback at the college level. Last season, he played two snaps at Ohio State before electing to transfer in the offseason. Since being named the starter, the Southlake native has played in just five games after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 2 against Alabama.
For the most part, Ewers has been one of the driving forces for Texas' success in Year 2 of the Sarkisian era. Against Oklahoma, he threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 49-0 victory. A week later, he completed 65.4 percent of his throws for 174 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 24-21 win over Iowa State.
College football, however, is a game about the present rather than the past. Against Oklahoma State, the first-year starter regressed, going 19 of 49 passing for 319 yards and tossing three interceptions on the way to a fourth-quarter collapse and 41-34 loss on the road.
Ewers said Monday that the film from Stillwater was “tough to go back at look at" but necessary if Texas hopes to improve. Following the film study, Ewers, along with quarterbacks coach AJ Milwee and Sarkisian, all elected to leave it in the past and focus ahead on their matchup with the Wildcats (6-2, 4-1 Big 12).
Ewers said that Sark's brutal honesty was needed to help him get back on track. In large part, the two bonded over their mistakes, knowing it won't define them in the long run if they can rebound and learn from the errors.
“He was just talking about his past when he might have had a bad game, just being able to put it in the past and then go do well the following week.”
Ewers still gives Texas (5-3, 3-2 Big 12) its best chance of winning a conference title for the first time since 2009 due to his accuracy and consistency. Outside of his start against the Pokes, he's completed 7.7 percent of his passes for 820 yards and nine touchdowns against two interceptions.
Sarkisian told reporters postgame against Oklahoma State that he never considered replacing Ewers with sophomore Hudson Card. Despite Card's success against UTSA, Texas Tech and West Virginia, the message has been from the get-go whichever quarterback won the title of QB1 during the fall camp would have the undisputed support from the coaching staff as the team's starter.
Ewers said he plans on working on "the small things" in practice this week, such as leading his receivers better and giving them more favorable balls in coverage. Sarkisian also isn't letting one game determine his choice of leaving Ewers in the starting lineup.
As someone who knows the ins and outs of playing quarterback, Sarkisian said it was important for Ewers to face the challenge head-on. Only then will he be better equipped for future challenges that await him and the program.
Said Sarkisian: "There's going to be days where you got to battle and you got to fight when maybe we're not at our best, but you continue to battle and compete. And I thought he did that two weeks ago.
"He's got great days ahead of him and I thought he put in a lot of good work last week.”
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