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Former Texas A&M quarterback was puzzled by Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian's decision to bench quarterback Quinn Ewers in favor of Arch Manning during their 30-15 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, per an interview with Collin Wilson of The Action Network.
“Coach Sark has come out and said that [Ewers] is his guy, he's our starter, so at no point throughout would I ever think I would see him have to go to the bench,” Manziel said. “I thought this was a really weird decision.”
With a few minutes before halftime, Sarkisian brought in Manning, but the Longhorns failed to put any points on the scoreboard. Ewers reentered the game in the second half. Since the game, Sarkisian explained his logic for the move, per On3's Andy Backstrom.
“My feeling in the game was I felt Quinn was a little uneasy, and I just felt like giving him a chance to kind of step back and regroup,” Sarkisian said. “I didn’t know if we’d get a series or two with Arch, depending on how much time was remaining in the half on the clock. So we just told Quinn, we said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna go with Arch here. Give you a chance to get into the locker room. Let’s regroup and then come back out in the second half.’ So that’s what we did.”
The No. 5 Texas Longhorns travel to Nashville this week to play the No. 25 Vanderbilt Commodores.
Texas football must refocus, turn the page
Nothing good came from this contest for Texas football. There's been a mountain of headlines about trash, fines, official statements from school officials and more since the Georgia game. The only thing the Longhorns can control is what happens on the field.
Assigning blame for a loss against a tough opponent in the middle of the season doesn't accomplish much. Texas is still in the thick of the College Football Playoff, and they still control their destiny. Should Manning be the starter over Ewers? That will work itself out on the field. Sarkisian should know the pulse of what coaches and players want.
Ewers has earned the job over the last three seasons. He has played 27 games for the Longhorns, and that counts for something. If Manning was something that special, he'd have come in and immediately ignited the Texas football offense. With that in mind, it's Ewers' job until he plays his way completely out of it and not taken away from him because of the whims of the fans or media.
