How Will The Longhorn QB Situation Shake Out?

When Texas quarterback Casey Thompson heard the news former head coach Tom Herman was out and Steve Sarkisian would take over, he said he never saw it coming.

“My first reaction is, how can I get ahold of him?” Thompson said last weekend, referring to Sarkisian, during a UT Zoom conference, per The Oklahoman.

Now, Thompson is competing for the starting QB job, which will be led by one of college football’s brightest offensive minds.

In the Texas spring game on April 24, Thompson played with the first team and redshirt freshman Hudson Card with the second.

Thompson completed 23-of-42 passes for 242 yards and an interception, while Card completed 15-of-25 for 168 yards and a TD. Thompson’s interception was a 93-yard pick six, The Oklahoman reports.  

“Both guys were maybe a little bit jittery at times in the pocket and lost our eyes,” Sarkisian said. “But that’s understandable in a spring game.” 

“The biggest thing we’re looking for is a level of consistency,” Sarkisian said.

He said when people come to a spring game, they are looking for "the wow plays."

“The wow plays are dangerous plays, if you don’t play consistently, because they can distract you from maybe mishaps along the way," he said, per The Oklahoman. "We look for consistency. We look for doing what you’re asked to do. Consistently doing your job, down after down after down. Then those plays, those wow type plays naturally occur.”

Most recently, Sark has led Mac Jones, Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, Cody Kessler and Matt Ryan.

Thompson redshirted in 2018, then threw just 19 passes, none of them in Big 12 games, over two seasons as Ehlinger’s backup.

When Ehlinger missed the second half of the Alamo Bowl with a shoulder injury, Thompson stepped up and produced a great game, completing 8-of-10 passing, 170 yards, four touchdowns, in a 55-23 rout of Colorado, the article states.