The news in Austin has gone from bad to worse for the Texas Longhorns and their starting quarterback Quinn Ewers.
The former No. 1 overall prospect in the country, and a local product, exited Saturday’s game near the end of the first quarter after Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner drove him into the turf on a throw-away pass. Now, reports indicate he could miss significant time from the injury.
Here’s the play as it happened on Saturday:
Quinn Ewers walks off the field after taking a big hit pic.twitter.com/ByzwkrNi8q
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 10, 2022
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Without Ewers, Texas struggled to a surprising 20-19 loss over the top-ranked team in the country. He had no problem dicing up Alabama’s secondary, completing 9 of 12 passes for 134 yards in just one quarter of play, including a 43-yard connection to Xavier Worthy a few plays prior to his injury.
Now Texas must figure out where to go from here without their preseason starter available in the short term. The Sporting News looks at how long Ewers’ timeline to return will be:
How long is Quinn Ewers out?
Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Ewers is expected to miss four to six weeks with a strained clavicle.
Sources: Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is expected to be out 4-6 weeks with an SC sprain, which is a significant injury where the sternum meets the clavicle. He got an MRI on Saturday that confirmed the diagnosis. He’s experiencing significant pain.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 11, 2022
Thamel reports the earliest he could return to play is Oct. 8, when the Longhorns take on Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry.
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What is Quinn Ewers’ injury?
Ewers has what has been diagnosed as a sprained clavicle, which is an injury to the joint where the clavicle (or collarbone) meets the sternum. It is considered a rare injury, and one that occurs after a high-velocity impact in collision sports.
From the National Library of Medicine:
Sternoclavicular joint injuries are uncommon injuries that involve the sternoclavicular joint and its associated ligaments. They can be traumatic or atraumatic. In traumatic injuries, the trauma often occurs in a motor vehicle accident or during contact or collision sports. A sprain of the joint can occur when no instability or laxity occurs. Posterior dislocations are less common than anterior and are associated with greater morbidity due to adjacent mediastinal and vascular structures.
Video of Ewers’ injury shows Turner picking the quarterback while he was in the air and using downward momentum to drive him into the artificial turf at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Thamel reports Ewers is experiencing “significant pain.”
MORE: Fans livid at referee Scott Campbell, Big 12 officials for missed calls in Texas loss to Alabama
Who is Quinn Ewers’ backup?
Ewers’ backup is redshirt sophomore Hudson Card, who played eight games in 2021 for Texas, including two starts. He played the remainder of Saturday’s game for the Longhorns, completing 14 of 22 passes for 158 yards.
Card also dealt with a lower-leg injury during his time filling in for Ewers, greatly limiting his mobility against Alabama’s defense. He was clearly favoring his right ankle, which affected his ability to plant and deliver long balls.
Card, a former four-star quarterback in the 202 recruiting class, in 2021 completed 51 of 83 passes in 2021 for 590 yards and five touchdowns to one interception. He also added 26 rushes for 17 yards and another score.
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