A look at the future of the Texas football quarterback room
By Shane Black
The past, present, and future of football is often dictated by the play of a team’s quarterback, and that is certainly the case for the Texas football program. Having a smart, talented, and tough leader at the quarterback position are a must in a college game that has evolved to teams throwing the ball 40+ times per game.
The pressure of holding the title of QB1 at the University of Texas is especially magnified due to the combination of fanbase expectations and media scrutiny.
The Longhorns were in the golden years of quarterback play from 2004-2009 when Vince Young and Colt McCoy manned the ship. Sam Ehlinger’s tenure withstanding, over the last 12 seasons the quarterback position in Austin has been a turnstile of talented players struggling to put together a strong enough body of work to hold the position.
Since the 2010 season, nine different quarterbacks have started at least one game for Texas. In a game predicated on consistency from the quarterback position, this is the easiest way to fall into the lean years.
Steve Sarkisian is looking to change the negative stigma surrounding Longhorn quarterbacks and went a long way towards doing that this offseason.
Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers will highlight the Texas football quarterback room for the better part of the 2020s
In December of 2021, the former 1.0000 rated 247Sports prospect Quinn Ewers announced his intentions to transfer to Texas. Ewers, who reclassified from the high school class of 2022 to 2021 in August, spent just four months at Ohio State.
Just over six months later, another 1.0000 rated 247Sports quarterback prospect announced his commitment to the University of Texas. This, of course, would be Arch Manning.
In the span of six months, Steve Sarkisian was able to land two of three of the 1.0000 rated quarterbacks in 247 Composite history (the other was Vince Young).
With all of that said, questions have been asked about how Coach Sarkisian will handle the sudden influx of talent at the quarterback position. Personally, I believe this is a non-issue and something Sark has the perfect personality to handle.
To answer some of those questions, let’s take a look at the future of the Texas quarterback position over the coming years.