Sarkisian hopes to solve QB quandary soon
AUSTIN — Texas coach Steve Sarkisian isn’t sure who he’ll have available at quarterback for Friday’s season finale against Kansas State at Royal-memorial Stadium.
Both junior Casey Thompson (thumb) and redshirt freshman Hudson Card (lower body) left last Saturday’s loss to West Virginia worse for the wear. Sarkisian on Monday said he expects Thompson to start, but given his tone that outcome appears far from ironclad.
And on a macro level, there’s an equal amount of quarterback uncertainty infecting this program.
Thompson has oscillated between dazzling and discombobulated while starting nine straight games. In 11 appearances, he’s 148 of 238 for 1,943 yards with 23 touchdowns, eight interceptions and four rushing scores.
Card, the Lake Travis prodigy who started Texas’ first two games, tried and failed to Sam Ehlinger this thing and take the reins for years to come. In eight appearances, he’s 51 of 83 for 590 yards with five touchdowns, one interception and one rushing score.
Now, with just one game left for the 4-7 Longhorns this season, Sarkisian is turning one eye to the future.
“I think that we have to open that job up,” he said Monday. “I think we have to let these guys compete to see the development. We’re gonna tear this thing all the way down and we’re gonna start this thing back at square one come winter conditioning and then into spring ball.”
Sarkisian plans on recruiting Card and Thompson to come back for the 2022 season. Texas is
also expected to sign Junipero Serra (Calif.) four-star quarterback Maalik Murphy during next month’s early signing period.
Murphy is a pro-style prospect listed No. 11 at the position and No. 150 in the 2022 class, per the 247Sports composite rankings. The 6-foot-4½, 225-pound quarterback recently led his team into the California Interscholastic Federation Section Division 3 final, and on the season, Murphy has completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 2,341 yards with 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
So, is he the answer? Sarkisian doesn’t know yet, but Murphy will have his shot at unseating
Thompson and Card — if both elect to stay — and whoever else the Longhorns bring in.
It’s still possible for Texas to add more quarterbacks this coming offseason, most likely via the NCAA transfer portal. And it might need to if history repeats itself: Since 2018, Texas has lost quarterbacks Shane Buechele (SMU), Cameron Rising (Utah) and Ja’quinden Jackson (Utah) to the NCAA transfer portal.
“At the end of the day, that’s the era we’re in,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve created free agency in college football without long-term contracts. I think every case and scenario’s going to be different. We’ve got to recruit other players
to come in because clearly the situation we’re in right now, we don’t have the depth at that position that’s needed moving forward.”
It’s easy to cast blame on the quarterback, but Texas has other issues that need fixing.
The offensive line has been a mess, and adding more Secready bodies is a priority moving forward. Texas has also had just one receiver stay healthy and productive this year, budding superstar freshman Xavier Worthy, with injuries, inconsistency and transfers hobbling the wideout position otherwise.
The Longhorns have verbal commitments from 2022 fourstar receivers Brenen Thompson (Spearman) and Armani Winfield (Lewisville), plus two four-star running backs set to join sophomore Bijan Robinson, junior Roschon Johnson (a former four-star quarterback recruit himself ), junior Keilan Robinson and freshman Jonathon Brooks.
But Texas has received only one verbal from a four-star offensive lineman, Frisco’s Cole Hutson. It is also expected to sign three-star Westlake lineman Connor Robertson, meaning Sarkisian will certainly pursue other options in the transfer portal during the offseason.
Beefing up the artillery should help, but it won’t matter if Texas doesn’t discover a reliable option at quarterback. Maybe that’s Thompson. Maybe it’s Card. Maybe it’s someone who’s yet to put on a Texas uniform.
“Hopefully there’s some retention and things to build off of and dig back into the nuances,” Sarkisian said. “And then ultimately for the QB, probably more than any other position, is to get to the why. Why we’re running that play, why we’re in this formation. Rather than just running the play, really dig into the whys.”
He added: “Ultimately, across the board, we need to play better and more consistently at that position if we want to be the team that we think we’re capable of being next fall.”