Texas football QB Quinn Ewers cleaning up mistakes this summer

The storyline that will command the attention of all Texas football fans heading into fall camp will be the looming quarterback competition between redshirt freshman Quinn Ewers and junior Hudson Card. And while a good portion of Texas fans think Ewers is the destined starting quarterback for Week 1 this coming season, it will be interesting to see how long it takes a starter to be announced.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian will need to be more decisive in his decision for the quarterback competition in fall camp this year than last. He mentioned at Big 12 Media Days last week that he and his staff are ready to make a decision for the quarterback competition earlier in fall camp this offseason compared to the previous year.

Moreover, there seems to be more insight into the quarterback competition this offseason compared to last leading into fall camp for one major reason. Coaches getting a maximum of two hours per week during the summer semester for on-field practice and coaching is a new development this offseason that provides more insight into the progress of players such as Ewers and Card.

And according to a report from Horns247 on July 21 (paid content), Ewers is showing signs of progress this summer that the coaching staff wasn’t able to see out of Card and Casey Thompson last offseason during summer workouts. He is reportedly getting a better grip on the offensive scheme and making fewer mistakes (i.e. poor reads and interceptions) this summer compared to spring camp.

Freshman Texas football QB Quinn Ewers showing progress in summer workouts

The fact that Ewers is getting a better grip on the offensive playbook and going through his reads more effectively during summer workouts/practice than he was during spring ball is a good sign. Ewers had a lot to digest this offseason in terms of picking up an entirely new offensive system just one semester after reclassifying and enrolling early at Ohio State.

Ewers will still have a lot to prove at the outset of fall camp, though. That’s when Texas will get the pads back on and resume contact drills and scrimmages. Ewers’ improved knowledge of the offense and effectiveness in going through his reads will be put to the test starting on Aug. 4.

If Ewers can prove that he’s made the necessary strides to take the reigns for this offense since the start of spring ball in the next few weeks, he should be locked in as the Week 1 starter. While Card has seemingly shown progressions in his development this offseason, he’s really fighting an uphill battle to even come close to winning the starting job this fall.

Texas finished up last season with a record of 5-7 (3-6 Big 12), missing out on bowl season for the first time since 2016. Ewers and the Longhorns are set to open up the 2022 regular season at home on Sep. 3 against Louisiana-Monroe.