4 overreactions from Texas football’s late collapse vs. OK State

Quinn Ewers is very much still a work in progress

There were multiple tendencies that defensive coordinator Derek Mason and the Cowboys were able to pick apart in the second half this weekend. Oklahoma State was able to get redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers uncomfortable in the pocket in the second half with some pressure coming off the edge and rattle the young signal-caller.

While Oklahoma State only got home with one sack in this game, the pressure that the likes of edge rusher Collin Oliver, edge rusher Trace Ford, linebacker Mason Cobb, etc. were able to get on Ewers prevented him from getting through all of his reads and making the necessary throws to pick apart this one-high safety defense.

It didn’t help that the duo of true freshman standout offensive tackle Kelvin Banks and senior offensive tackle Christian Jones had one of their worst showings of the season thus far. The lack of reliable pass protection against those talented Oklahoma State edge rushers/defensive ends was just another reason that Ewers was rattled.

On the 12 passing attempts that Ewers got off when he came under pressure, he completed just 33 percent of his throws, good for 60 yards, no passing touchdowns, and one interception.

Yet, even when Ewers wasn’t under pressure in this game, he still wasn’t able to get a good connection going with his receivers. Ewers had a season-high four throwaways on plays where he was kept clean in the pocket. He also completed a season-low 38.9 percent of his passing attempts when he was kept clean.

This game proved that there are still some major strides that Ewers must make in the next couple of seasons before he can come close to fulfilling his massive potential.