Texas football QB Quinn Ewers faces a stern test against Oklahoma pass rush

As expected, Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday that Quinn Ewers will start at quarterback on Saturday against Oklahoma after missing the past 2½ games with an abdominal strain.

But Ewers won’t get a chance to ease back into the competition, based on a challenging matchup for top-ranked Texas (5-0, 1-0 SEC) in the Cotton Bowl. The No. 16 Sooners (4-1, 1-1) have struggled on offense but boast a fierce defense powered by its pass rush. Oklahoma ranks fifth in the nation with 3.6 sacks a game and is fourth in the nation with 13 takeaways.

Those two stats go hand-in-hand, Sarkisian said during his weekly Zoom meeting with the media.

“They do a heck of a job of getting to the quarterback, and because of that, they do a heck of a job of creating havoc, which I think leads to the opportunistic defense that they have where they create turnovers,” he said.

A Red River Rivalry chess match on the sidelines

Sarkisian has matched wits plenty of times over the years with Oklahoma's Brett Venables , a longtime defensive coordinator who took over the Sooners program in 2022. They’ve already faced off twice as head coaches in the Red River Rivalry , and they once met when Sarkisian was Alabama’s offensive coordinator and Venables was Clemson's defensive coordinator.

“A lot of what they do defensively starts up front, and that's kind of been a staple of coach Venables’ defenses throughout the years,” Sarkisian said. “Regardless of the school he was at, it's always started up front. This group's not much different than that. They do a heck of a job of creating pressure internally. They do a good job coming off the edge. They do a good job with their pressure packages and a variety of those that they have. There's layers to what they do, and we know we've got a work cut out for us this week.”

Texas seems to have the right players up front to handle that work. Led by All-American candidate Kelvin Banks Jr. at left tackle, the Longhorns allow an average of just one sack a game. That’s good news for Ewers, who has missed at least two games in each of his three seasons as a starter.

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Steve Sarkisian: Quinn Ewers is not injury-prone

Those missed games don’t mean that Ewers is more prone to injuries than other quarterbacks, Sarkisian insisted.

“I don't necessarily think so,” he said. “Sometimes injuries happen because they happen, you know? I mean, when a guy gets pile-drived on the shoulder, there's a pretty good chance, it doesn't matter who you are, your shoulder is probably going to be sore to some capacity. Or when you get pile-drived and your clavicle gets popped.”

Sarkisian said a history of injuries shouldn’t affect Ewers when he joins the NFL draft, which he’s expected to do after this season. Sarkisian, who spent three seasons coaching in the NFL, says injuries to quarterbacks are just a fact of life. He mentioned a shoulder sprain that limited Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts last season as well as a recent abdominal strain that will likely sideline the New Orleans Saints' Derek Carr for a few weeks.

Ewers has suffered similar injuries in the past two seasons, and he’s come back to play effective football, Sarkisian said.

“Quinn has shown over his time that when he's been injured, he's engaged, he comes back and he plays really good football coming off of injury,” Sarkisian said. This (week), to me, is another chance for him to go show that he can do that.”

More: Where does Red River Rivalry between Texas, Oklahoma rank among SEC's biggest games?

Freshman punter Michael Kern is questionable

Freshman punter Michael Kern made a surprise appearance on the Longhorns’ injury report Wednesday with a questionable tag. He has impressed in limited opportunities, averaging 42.8 yards on 11 punts and placing four of those punts inside the 20-yard line. He has forced punt returners into five fair catches and doesn’t have a touchback. He also handles the holding duties on extra points and field goals.

Sarkisian said Ian Ratliff will serve as both the punter and holder if Kern can’t play. A sophomore from the Houston suburb of Humble, Ratliff has never appeared in a collegiate game. He earned all-district honors as both a punter and kicker at Humble Atascocita.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football QB Quinn Ewers faces a stern test against Oklahoma pass rush