Texas Injury Update: Quinn Ewers Returns to Practice

The Texas Longhorns are looking to get healthier ahead of their SEC opener against Mississippi State.

Sep 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) talks with head coach Steve Sarkisian before the game against Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

AUSTIN -- Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers appears to be trending in the right direction ahead of the SEC opener against Mississippi State.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday that Ewers returned to practice after missing the sixth game of his career Saturday in the 51-3 win over Louisiana-Monroe due to an abdominal injury. Sarkisian said Ewers would be listed as questionable right now.

The team’s first SEC availability report later in the week could be more telling about his status. It’s certainly possible Ewers could be a game-time decision leading up to kickoff against the Bulldogs if Sarkisian doesn't name him the starter when he meets with the media via Zoom Thursday.

"We'll see how he goes throughout the week and monitor how he responds to tomorrow coming off of today's practice," Sarkisian said of Ewers. " ... He’s got to do enough to show me he can play."

Longhorns receiver DeAndre Moore Jr., who exited in the first quarter of the ULM game due to a hip pointer, also returned to practice. 

In place of Ewers, Arch Manning his first-career start. The big-name prodigy had his ups and downs, but ultimately guided Texas to a blowout win. He finished 15 of 29 passing for 258 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. 

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

Moore, who had one catch for six yards on Saturday headed into the ULM game with three catches for 17 yards and one touchdown for this season. He didn't record a catch all of last year.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported on College GameDay that Ewers had "improved significantly."

“I was told just yesterday that Quinn Ewers’ injured oblique has improved significantly this week,” Thamel said. “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.’”

The Longhorns will kick off against Mississippi State on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. CT on SEC Network.