Sark: Ewers, Manning in competition for QB job
After the Texas Longhorns‘ first spring practice, coach Steve Sarkisian said on Monday that all positions are up for grabs, including quarterback, where sophomore Quinn Ewers and freshman Arch Manning will compete for the starting job.
“I’m not worried about who’s going to be on the cover of what magazine next week,” Sarkisian said. “I’m more focused on is, is each guy focusing on what they need to do to develop to be the best player that they can be? Quinn has an entire year of a head start, but I don’t want to hold Arch back. I want to see how far he can take this thing and what it can look like.”
Both were highly coveted recruits, with Ewers ranked as the No. 2 player in the 2021 ESPN 300 and Manning — one of the most high-profile recruits in history — at No. 5 in the 2023 edition.
Ewers arrived last season as a transfer from Ohio State; started 10 games, throwing for 2,177 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions; and was named the Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year. He struggled in stretches of the season but closed strong, going 31-of-47 for 369 yards and a TD against Washington in the Alamo Bowl, and he finished the season with 116 straight passes without an interception.
Still, Sarkisian said the passing game has to improve this season, and he’s aware of the huge spotlight on his QB derby. Sarkisian noted the reaction on social media when Ewers cut his trademark mullet this offseason, saying the two had spoken about how sometimes your appearance creates a perception about you.
“All of a sudden, now the guy gets a haircut and cleans his beard up a little bit and everyone thinks Quinn’s real serious right now,” Sarkisian said. “But that’s human nature. It’s never been a question of him taking this serious. He wants to be really good. He wants to be a leader on this team. He wants to win a championship with these guys. And that doesn’t change what he does day to day, but appearance is what it is. And so I do think him recognizing that shows some maturity.”
Sarkisian said that Ewers has become a more vocal presence this offseason.
“I think what he’s done, he’s serving for Arch and, ‘Hey, this is what it looks like,'” Sarkisian said. “‘And this is how to go about your business.'”
Sarkisian mentioned, similarly, the attention Manning got earlier this year when he twice lost his student ID and other students shared it on social media, and cautioned that it’s a reminder that Manning is a freshman who still should technically be in high school, despite the excitement around his signing and his name.
“For Arch today, Day 1, there’s some plays for sure that he would love to have back,” Sarkisian said. “There’s some other plays that he made where I think everybody was like, ‘Wow, that was a heck of a play.’ But he brings a worker’s mentality and he wants to be really good at this game.”
Sarkisian also revealed that wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who had a bit of a disappointing sophomore season with 760 yards and nine touchdowns (58.8 yards per game) after a breakout freshman year in which he had 981 yards and 12 TDs, played with a broken hand for about half the season last year.
“Anytime you’re a receiver and you’re playing with a broken hand, that’s a pretty important aspect of your game, and that guy never wanted to sit out, not play,” Sarkisian said, noting that he didn’t reveal it so opponents didn’t know. “He came to work. He fought through it. There were days in practice where we purposely didn’t throw him balls just to take some of the pressure off of it. But I think we’re going to see a version of Xavier Worthy that’s going to be dramatically different now that he’s healthy.”
Monday also brought a new look in the backfield, with Texas seeking replacements for running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, fixtures for the Longhorns the past few years.
On Monday, Jaydon Blue took first-team reps and freshman Cedric Baxter Jr. also was in the rotation. Sarkisian said running backs Jonathon Brooks (offseason hernia surgery) and Keilan Robinson (muscle strain) were both held out while they recover.
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Chris Low
Auburn wide receiver Malcolm Simmons, an expected starter this season, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of domestic assault with strangulation or suffocation, according to Lee County (Alabama) Sheriff’s Office records.
Simmons was booked into Lee County Jail at 7:20 p.m. ET. His bond was set at $20,000.
An Auburn spokesperson said in a statement, “We are aware of the situation, are gathering the facts, and will address the situation.”
As a freshman last season, Simmons was second on the team with 40 receptions, including three going for touchdowns. He also returned a punt for a score.
He is one of the players Hugh Freeze mentioned at SEC media days earlier this week, when the Auburn coach said he thinks this can be his best receiving corps since he was at Ole Miss.
Simmons is the second Auburn player to be arrested this month. Linebacker D.J. Barber was dismissed from the team last week while facing multiple drug charges, including trafficking marijuana.
MADISON, Wis. — The status of Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean for this season is now unclear after a federal appeals court overturned a preliminary injunction that had granted him another year of NCAA eligibility.
In a 2-1 decision rendered Wednesday, Seventh Circuit judges reversed the ruling by a lower court, after the NCAA appealed.
Fourqurean, a fifth-year senior, had argued that his first two college seasons at Division II Grand Valley State should not count toward his eligibility.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is expected to play again after winning his court case last year on the grounds that his two seasons at a junior college do not count. The NCAA is appealing that decision but granted a blanket waiver that will allow Pavia and other athletes who played at non-NCAA Division I schools prior to enrollment an extra year of eligibility if they were going to exhaust their eligibility this year.
The path forward for Fourqurean, a projected starter, is less clear with Wisconsin’s season opener against Miami (Ohio) on Aug. 28 just over six weeks away. Messages sent to attorneys listed as his representatives in court documents, as well as spokespeople for Wisconsin football, were not immediately returned.
The NCAA released a statement after Wednesday’s ruling, noting it “will continue to work together to provide unparalleled opportunities for student-athletes and future generations.”
“The member-approved rules, including years of eligibility, are designed to help ensure competition is safe and fair — aligning collegiate academic and athletic careers to provide high-level opportunities and benefits to hundreds of thousands of student-athletes,” the NCAA said. “We are thankful the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals today reversed the district court’s decision.”
Fourqurean testified during a U.S. District Court hearing in February that he would make “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in name, image and likeness compensation if he were to play this season. After judge William Conley granted him the preliminary injunction, Fourqurean pulled out of NFL draft consideration and took part in spring practices.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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