As the warmer weather returns and the grass and flowers start to grow, all signs point to one thing: spring football practice is upon us. The successes or failures of last season are exactly that-last season. It’s time to focus energies on what could be coming down the road for college football and for the Texas Longhorns in particular.
One of the striking issues right out of the gate is head coach Steve Sarkisian’s nod to returner QB Hudson Card to get the first team reps starting on day one of spring practice. Maybe it’s just a practical choice given the fact that Card has been there and and is a returning veteran player who started a number of games last season. For that matter, all returning veterans have earned at least a chance to start out with first team reps, at least during spring practice. There’s an old saying in football (I’m sure I’ve heard it in other sports as well) that playing time is earned, not given. Hudson Card has earned his chance to try and compete for the starting QB position and so far hasn’t publicly shown any inclination to transfer to another school to lock in a starting position with another program. Newcomer Quinn Ewers has had to become content with getting reps with the second team while fellow newcomer Maalik Murphy is doing what any other QB down the depth chart needs to do – look, listen and grab as many reps as the coaches will give you.
Don’t read into Hudson Card getting the first team nod from Steve Sarkisian this spring. This may all be a part of a grand scheme to give Quinn Ewers some viable competition or maybe the competition is for Card himself to step up and reclaim a starting role or at least secure his position as the primary backup QB. As we have seen recently in both the NCAA and NFL ranks, QB’s can and will go down at a moment’s notice and a team’s entire season can rest in the hands of a young man who has to step in and take over the play calling. For Maalik Murphy, his role is to learn the offensive system under Sarkisian and be patient. Murphy’s time may come sooner than we all think but as of right now it’s Hudson Card’s show this spring and more than likely Quinn Ewers is being groomed to move up to the starting role come fall practices. September 3rd is going to come sooner than we all realize and one of the biggest story lines this upcoming season is going to unfold in Austin.
