Texas Football: Sarkisian has ‘everything he wants’ in QB room in 2023

A lot is being made of the claims of how much talent and depth head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football program have on the roster heading into the 2023 season. Texas does have one of the deepest rosters across the board among all the Big 12 teams this year.

But it still feels a bit too early to get the hype train going for Sark and the Longhorns heading into the 2023 season.

One of the biggest difference makers for the Longhorns in 2023 will be the production from the quarterback position. If Sark and the Longhorns can get consistent high-level production from redshirt sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers this fall, that will almost assuredly put Texas in a spot to compete for a Big 12 title in 2023.

It sounds like Sark is really confident about the situation he has in the quarterback room in 2023. Sark specifically likes the direction that Ewers’ game is headed this offseason. He recently spoke about Ewers’ development at the quarterback position in the last few months during the San Antonio stop on the Texas Fight Tour this spring (per Orangebloods).

Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian more optimistic about Quinn Ewers and the QB room in 2023

"“I thought Quinn was one of the shining stars. I thought he played a really good football game that night. We didn’t help him very much around him, and that carried him right into winter conditioning. I think he’s in the best shape of his life. I think he’s assuming the leadership role on our team that the quarterback needs to.”"

This type of rhetoric from Sark that he had at the Texas Fight Tour in San Antonio on May 9 closely resembled a lot of what we heard about the strides Ewers made as a leader on and off the practice field during spring ball. He also showed more steadiness and leadership going all the way back to the winter strength and conditioning program, which Sark mentioned at the Texas Fight Tour.

Ewers is headed in the right direction but still has a lot to prove

I do believe that Ewers is making a lot of progress in his second full year in Sark’s system. There isn’t anything I’ve heard in the last few months regarding what Ewers has shown to the coaches and his teammates on and off the field during winter workouts and spring ball that would lead me to doubt Sark’s heightened optimism in his starting quarterback.

But the fact of the matter is that Ewers still needs to continue to improve this offseason to put himself in the best position to succeed during a critical 2023 campaign for him and the program. Ewers will really be put to the test right away this fall when the Longhorns travel to Tuscaloosa in Week 2 to face head coach Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Other reasons for optimism in the QB room

Ewers’ progress is not the only reason why Sark and the Longhorns should be more confident in the state of the QB room in 2023 compared to the last couple of years. Texas has more talent and depth present in the QB room this offseason than it did during the first two years with Sark as the head coach.

After a solid showing during the spring game, second-year quarterback Maalik Murphy proved that a lot of the hype behind his talent is real. He could be a quality backup for the Longhorns in 2023.

Of course, I’m not forgetting about what the nation’s No. 1 ranked recruit in the 2023 class, true freshman quarterback Arch Manning, brings to the table. I fully believe that Arch will learn from some of the mistakes he made during the spring and make significant strides heading into the fall.

There are way too many people out there that put way too much in the way of expectations on Arch’s shoulders heading into the spring. Let’s all remember that he’s still a true freshman early enrollee that is learning a complicated offensive system under Sark. It will take some time for him to get settled into this system during his true freshman campaign.

All in all, I think Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods put it well when he stated that Sark “finally has everything he wants from the quarterback room” in 2023. He has all of his guys in the quarterback room, which could make a difference for this team if it can get more consistent play from the signal-callers this fall.

Ewers has recently started to build a lot of hype as one of the best returning starting quarterbacks in the country in 2023. We just have to see him prove on the field this fall that all we’ve heard about his improved composure and leadership can translate into live-game situations.