Insider Shares Update on Quinn Ewers Injury

Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers will miss the sixth game of his college career.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) looks for an open receiver during the game against UTSA at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AUSTIN -- Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning will get the start Saturday night against Louisiana-Monroe, as Quinn Ewers will miss the sixth game of his college career due to the oblique injury he suffered against UTSA.

Fortunately for the Longhorns, it appears this injury isn't as severe as what he's dealt with the past two seasons during multi-game absences.

ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel said Saturday morning on College GameDay that Ewers has "improved significantly." This could give him a chance to play in the SEC opener vs. Mississippi State on Sept. 28, though it's likely that coach Steve Sarkisian will keep that decision under wraps until later in the week much like he did with the announcement Thursday that Manning would start.

“I was told just yesterday that Quinn Ewers’ injured oblique has improved significantly this week,” Thamel said on College GameDay. “We’ll get a sense early next week of whether he returns to practice, and a week from today, when we’re in Tuscaloosa, I have a feeling we’ll be playing the will-he-won’t-he game for the Mississippi State game. ... “What these fans want to know is, will he be back for Red River? The overwhelming expectation is that he will be back in that game, barring any setbacks. One thing Steve Sarkisian has made crystal clear this week is that Quinn Ewers is Texas’ quarterback. There is no controversy. I think he heard the Arch hype-train coming, and he made it a point to say, ‘We have a national championship team, and Quinn is our quarterback.’”

So far this season, Ewers has gone 58 of 79 passing for 691 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions.

Even if Ewers is unable to go against Mississippi State, Manning has proven he's more than capable of holding down the fort. Against UTSA, he went 9 of 12 passing for 223 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions while adding a 67-yard rushing touchdown.

No. 1 Texas will kick off against ULM at 7 p.m. CT.