3 of the boldest predictions for Texas football in fall camp
Hudson Card takes more first-team reps early in fall camp than Quinn Ewers
The looming quarterback competition that everyone will have their eye on this fall on the Forty Acres will take place between junior Hudson Card and redshirt freshman Quinn Ewers. And it looks like this quarterback competition will have a starter named much earlier in fall camp this year compared to last offseason.
It took Sark a couple of weeks to get settled on a starting quarterback last fall coming out of camp.
He elected to go with Card over Casey Thompson last offseason. But that decision didn’t stick for too long as Thompson was already taking the reigns as the starter by the end of the non-conference slate.
Moreover, the presumed favorite to win the starting job early in fall camp is Ewers. The former Ohio State transfer and perfect-rated recruit does have the makings of the favorite to be the starter for Week 1 vs. ULM. But it wouldn’t be surprising if Card still gets some live-game action in the regular season opener, even if he does lose the quarterback competition in camp.
In all likelihood, Card will be fighting to prove that he deserves some live-game reps this fall when the opportunity arises for Sark. That would likely come against ULM in Week 1, or potentially if Texas is able to take a commanding second-half lead against the UTSA Roadrunners in Week 3 at home.
The fact of the matter, though, is that Sark had Card taking most of the first-team reps out of the gates in spring ball. Throughout spring practice, Card was often the first QB getting the first-team reps, and then he and Ewers would alternate. It’s not out of the question that Card could be the one taking the first-team reps ahead of Ewers early in fall practice.
In a situation where Ewers is named the starter within the first couple of weeks of fall camp, I would expect the pendulum to swing back in his direction in terms of him taking the bulk of the first-team reps in practice.
And if you want an even bolder prediction than Sark and the Longhorns giving Card more first-team reps in fall camp than Ewers, how about him getting more offensive snaps in Week 1 vs. ULM.
Granted, if Texas is way ahead of ULM in the first half on Sep. 3, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest to see Sark and quarterbacks coach AJ Milwee give the nod to multiple different quarterbacks later in the game. That could mean some combination of Card, Maalik Murphy, Charlie Wright, etc., takes more snaps combined vs. ULM than Ewers, even if the elite redshirt freshman is named the starting quarterback coming out of fall camp.