No. 1 Horns unsure of Ewers’ status for SEC debut
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Dave Wilson, ESPN Staff Writer
Quinn Ewers remains questionable for No. 1 Texas‘ SEC debut against Mississippi State as he recovers from an oblique strain, coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday.
“He’s got to do enough to show me he can play,” Sarkisian said. “Can he execute the game plan? I kind of need to see how he responds from today’s work, and then what it looks like on a Tuesday, then a Wednesday, which are pretty heavy days for him, and then how he rebounds on Thursday.
“It’s going to be kind of a work in progress. But today was a good start.”
Sarkisian said he was encouraged by the performance from backup Arch Manning, who made his first career start in the Longhorns’ 51-3 victory against UL Monroe on Saturday night.
Manning completed 15 of 29 passes for 258 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, including one on his first possession.
“I’ve seen a lot of young quarterbacks have a rough start, and then that rough start turns into a rough game,” Sarkisian said about the turnovers. “It was a little bit of a rough start for him, but I thought he rebounded and did some nice things for us.”
Sarkisian took partial responsibility for a game plan that featured a lot of deep shots, knowing Manning loves to throw them.
“Arch is a really good deep-ball thrower, and it gives guys chances to go make plays on those shots down the field,” Sarkisian said. “With a young quarterback, I’m kind of kicking myself a little. I wish I had a few other freebie completions for him, just so that there could have been a little bit more balance getting that completion percentage up, being efficient, moving the chains.”
Manning attempted eight passes of 15 or more yards. He told reporters after the game that he gave himself a C-plus for his performance, and Sarkisian on Monday noted four or five plays where Manning had opportunities to check the ball down without forcing throws that he missed.
“That’s a difference of completing 50% to 52% of your passes to 65%,” Sarkisian said. “So room for growth there.”
Sarkisian said he feels good about where the Longhorns stand as SEC play begins for the first time. After Mississippi State, Texas has a bye, followed by high-profile matchups against No. 21 Oklahoma in Dallas and No. 2 Georgia in Austin.
Texas has outscored its opponents by 168 points this year — its most through the first four games of a season since 1977, according to ESPN research.
“I think that we do have the depth on this roster to withstand the strain that the SEC could put on your roster over that eight-game season that you play in conference, so that part is probably most encouraging for me,” Sarkisian said. “You know the SEC slogan, ‘It just means more’? I feel like at Texas, when you take this job, it just means more here, too.
“There’s an expectation that we’re going to compete for a conference championship year in and year out, and there’s an expectation that we’re competing for a national championship. The conference may have changed, but our standard and our expectations really haven’t.”
The San Diego Padres placed right-hander Michael King on the 15-day injured list Thursday because of left knee inflammation.
King (4-2, 2.81 ERA) had just come off the IL on Saturday, allowing two runs in as many innings of a no-decision against the Boston Red Sox.
It was his first start since May 18 as he dealt with shoulder inflammation.
Now, he’s back on the IL with a knee issue in a move retroactive to Monday.
It’s a setback for a red-hot Padres team, who will carry a five-game winning streak into a weekend showdown against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. First-place San Diego is one game ahead of L.A. in the NL West.
King had been scheduled to start the series opener Friday.
In the corresponding roster move, the Padres recalled right-hander Randy Vásquez from Triple-A El Paso.
While the Milwaukee Brewers keep on rolling, another Wisconsin business is stocking up on beef and buns.
For the third time in its history, George Webb Restaurants will make good on its promise of giving away free hamburgers as part of a longstanding promotion to celebrate the Brewers winning 12 consecutive games.
The free burger giveaway will be held Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. CT at all 23 of the restaurant’s locations throughout Wisconsin. Vouchers for a burger at a later date will be available at all locations starting Friday.
“Hungry fans are welcome to stop by any location for a free, juicy burger and some camaraderie with fellow baseball fans,” the restaurant said on its website.
Starting way back in the 1940s, when Milwaukee was home to the minor league Brewers of the old American Association, George Webb promised free burgers if the local baseball team won 17 consecutive games.
The promotion dropped to 13 games by the time the Braves made Milwaukee a big league city in 1953, but that franchise couldn’t make it happen before departing for Atlanta in 1966.
George Webb changed the promotion to 12 games when the Brewers moved from Seattle in 1970. In 1987, the Brewers opened the season with 13 wins in a row, and more than 170,000 burgers were given away to mark the occasion.
The Brewers accomplished the feat a second time in 2018, closing the regular season with eight victories followed by four playoff wins. That streak led to 90,000 free burgers being given away in addition to 100,000 redeemable vouchers.
Prior to reaching the magic mark on Wednesday, the Brewers had come close on a few occasions, including an 11-game winning streak earlier this season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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