Tim Warner/Getty Images
Texas star Quinn Ewers exited Saturday’s matchup against UTSA during the first quarter with an abdomen strain, head coach Steve Sarkisian told ESPN before halftime, per Yahoo’s Anwar Richardson.
The quarterback went down untouched after a handoff and left the field for the medical tent, a look of frustration on his face as he hobbled off the sideline. ESPN’s Matt Miller later reported that Ewers returned to the sideline without his pads, indicating that his night was over.
Ewers was replaced by redshirt freshman Arch Manning, the nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning who joined the Longhorns with plenty of hype surrounding him.
On his first two drives, Manning had a 19-yard passing touchdown and a 67-yard rushing touchdown.
ESPN @espn
Archie Manning threw a TD on his first play of the game 🎯 pic.twitter.com/neEjrC8YhM
Texas Football @TexasFootball
CAN’T TOUCH HIM 😮💨@ArchManning pic.twitter.com/65nR57qIR5
Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
ARCH MANNING IN 3 SNAPS 🤯
TD PASS
HANDOFF
67-YARD RUSHING TDARE YOU KIDDING ME?! pic.twitter.com/aRZBQpqnbD
Coming into Saturday’s game, Ewers had 506 passing yards, six touchdowns and an interception, leading the Longhorns to wins over Colorado State and Michigan. He has been an early favorite to win the Heisman Trophy award, and he’ll hope that his Heisman campaign won’t be cut short due to an injury.
While the best-case scenario for Texas would be Ewers back on the field by next Saturday, the Longhorns can rest assured knowing they have a promising backup in Manning should Ewers have to miss any time.
Manning’s action has been limited early on this year as he plays behind Ewers, but he’s been solid in his limited reps, completing five of his six passes for 95 yards and a touchdown coming into Saturday’s matchup.
With Ewers’ night over, Manning will now get plenty of in-game reps to prepare him to take over the Longhorns’ starter if need be.