No injuries, but questions still unanswered
AUSTIN — No one got hurt during Texas’ Orange-White spring game at Royal-Memorial Stadium on Saturday. In a public exhibition that didn’t keep a score or statistics, that counted as the night’s biggest “win.”
“Anybody who’s been to enough spring games like this, part of the win is coming out healthy, which we did tonight,” coach Steve Sarkisian said after the Longhorns played out their final spring practice in front of about 30,000 fans. “But all in all, I thought it was a good night.”
Like Sarkisian promised, Texas kept the play-calling “vanilla” on both sides of the ball. Still, the Longhorns produced a few explosive plays to keep the night interesting, even if it didn’t answer any major questions — like who’s going to start at quarterback.
The competition between sophomore Hudson Card and redshirt freshman Quinn Ewers will continue through the summer “to be fair to both those guys,” Sarkisian confirmed. Neither Card nor Ewers looked objectively more qualified than the other to start the Longhorns’ Sept. 3 season opener against LouisianaMonroe.
Ewers delivered the throw of the day, flicking a 67-yard touchdown strike to Wyoming transfer receiver Isaiah Neyor. The throw hit Neyor in stride after he got a few steps behind the secondary.
Ewers also threw a bad interception right to senior safety Anthony Cook and overthrew a few open receivers. But the former Southlake Carroll quarterback shrugged that off and closed out his night by hitting star sophomore Xavier Worthy for a touchdown in the scrimmageending red zone competition.
Card, who started Texas’ first two games last season, looked a little steadier in the pocket, though he still showcased some happy feet at times. He scored on a rushing touchdown and delivered a dart to sophomore tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders, who tried dragging a few defenders across the goal line only to end up stripped by junior safety Jerrin Thompson.
“Both guys really had some flash plays, some really cool plays,” Sarkisian said. “Whether it’s throwing down the field, orchestrating drives or in the red area. And we saw some plays I think both guys would love to have back.
That’s part of the position, sometimes you can’t control some of the other things going on around you. But I like where these guys are at. If I could have said that they would play this good after 15 practices this spring, or if one of them would have I’d be ecstatic.”
Aside from Neyor and Sanders, who both made several catches, Worthy and junior Jordan Whittington were most active in the passing game. Rising redshirt freshman Casey Cain was targeted several times, though one resulted in Ewers’ interception and another was broken up by fifthyear cornerback D’Shawn Jamison.
Notably, Heisman candidate defensive back Bijan Robinson (ankle sprain) did not play for precautionary reasons. That led to added touches for Roschon Johnson, junior Keilan Robinson and sophomore Jonathan Brooks. All three impressed.
Brooks broke off a couple big runs while cutting away from defenders, showcasing both his burst and vision. K. Robinson sped away from would-be tacklers on a few chunk plays. And Johnson picked up where he left off last season, knifing through the defense’s gut on a striking 55-yard touchdown scamper.
“We’re going to need those guys just like we did last season, and the idea that we could run the ball like that without Bijon, that’s really encouraging to me,” Sarkisian said. “On the flip side, man, if we can learn to get these guys on the ground, we will be pretty effective, but we got to minimize the big plays, the explosive plays for sure.”
On defense, fifth-year edge defender Ovie Oghoufo, senior tackle T’Vondre Sweat, sophomore end Prince Dorbah, sophomore tackle Byron Murphy II and junior lineman Myron Warren each recorded a sack.
Card and Ewers found themselves under pressure several more times, though with the quarterbacks in noncontact jerseys and a shorthanded offensive line it’s difficult to tell how much, if at all, Texas’ pass rush has improved.
In the secondary, Ohio State transfer corner Ryan Watts showed off his coverage chops by breaking up a pass in the end zone intended for senior Marcus Washington. And junior corner Jahdae Barron produced one of the day’s biggest collisions, blasting second-year receiver Dajon Harrison to jar the ball loose and force an incompletion
“This was not about scheme in this game,” Sarkisian said. “This was about lining up, trying to play good football, who could block, who could get off blocks, who could tackle, who could cover, who could run routes and catch the ball in competitive settings. I kind of learned a little tonight. Again, assess the tape and see where we’re at.”