1 thing Casey Thompson did really well that Texas will miss

Texas football is going to be in a good spot at the quarterback position without a doubt with the former Ohio State Buckeyes freshman transfer signal-caller and elite five-star recruit Quinn Ewers coming to town. But there are still parts of the game of redshirt junior quarterback Casey Thompson that Texas will miss next season.

The ability of Thompson to make unscheduled plays that benefitted the Longhorns and to get the ball out quickly, especially before he injured his throwing hand in the season that was, often was a huge benefit to this offense. Thompson did look like one of the top quarterbacks in the Big 12, and even the entire Power Five at times, before he injured his throwing hand during the fall.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns were bailed out a lot of times last season when the offensive line broke down in front of Thompson. He had a good arm and could make plenty of throws on the run.

The problems really persisted when pressure was coming his way in droves and when he was clearly bothered by the injury that lingered on his throwing hand.

Nonetheless, the plays that Thompson was able to make on a consistent basis last season when he had to get the ball out of his hands essentially in the blink of an eye is something that the Longhorns will miss next fall.

Casey Thompson’s ability to make unscheduled plays for Texas football definitely will be missed in 2022

Thompson led the Big 12 in 2021 in terms of passing touchdowns,  quarterback rating, first downs, and was third in passing yards when he had less than 2.5 seconds to throw the ball. He registered 19 passing touchdowns, just two interceptions, more than 1,000 passing yards, and more than two-dozen first downs when he had less than 2.5 seconds to get rid of the football.

Those are some incredible numbers that highlight Thompson’s ability to throw on the run and make things happen unscheduled.

It is worth noting too on plays where Thompson had less than 2.5 seconds to get rid of the ball, he was under pressure really in the blink of an eye. Among those dropbacks on passing plays where he had fewer than 2.5 seconds to get rid of the football, the average time to throw was just 1.71 seconds.

That was good for the least amount of time to throw of any quarterback in the Big 12 in 2021.

Thompson really didn’t get much time to make anything happen in the snaps he took with Texas last fall. Yet, he still managed to only get sacked three times on dropbacks where he had more than two-dozen pressures and less than 2.5 seconds to throw the ball.

His reaction time and quick-play diagnosing abilities were off the charts. Hopefully, this is something that Ewers will bring to the table too for the Longhorns in 2022.

Texas should have improved offensive line play next season. And, in general, the hope is that the offense will be more in sync in 2022 than it was during Sark’s first year at the helm in 2021.

Ewers might be able to make some quick throws on a dime. That’s the type of arm talent that one of the only perfect 247Sports Composite recruits in the modern ranking era of college football recruiting should be able to bring to the table oftentimes.

But seeing Thompson do it while battling through an injury that clearly bothered him consistently, was something to behold. It just so happened that Texas had a really difficult time closing out games in the second half. Thus, it made a lot of Thompson’s better statistical performances much more forgettable in the end.

Texas finished up last season with a record of 5-7 (3-6 Big 12) after knocking off the Kansas State Wildcats in the regular season finale on Black Friday. That was the first time that the Longhorns missed the postseason since 2016, under former head coach Charlie Strong.