Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers has been upgraded to "day-to-day," coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters Monday, as he recovers from a shoulder injury suffered during the Longhorns' Week 8 victory at Houston. Ewers, who was previously listed as week-to-week, has been sidelined during Texas' home wins over BYU and Kansas State over the past two weeks as redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy started in his place. Sarkisian said Ewers was able to throw passes at Monday's practice.
Ewers, who is in his second season as Longhorns starter, completed 70.9% of his passes for 1,915 yards and 13 touchdowns with three interceptions across the team's first seven games of 2023 before suffering the injury. It's the second straight season in which Ewers has missed time with a shoulder injury after going down against Alabama last September. He missed three starts in 2022 while recovering.
Murphy has been inconsistent, at best, while taking the reins of the Texas offense in place of Ewers. He was 16-of-25 passing for 170 yards and two touchdowns with an interception against BYU in Week 9, though the Longhorns defense did its job as Texas cruised to a 35-6 win. Murphy then went 19 of 37 for 248 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions against Kansas State in Week 10 as the Longhorns hung on for dear life in a 33-30 overtime win.
Ewers' upgraded status comes as Texas prepares to travel to TCU in Week 11. The Longhorns, who are eyeing both Big 12 Championship Game and College Football Playoff berths amid an 8-1 start (5-1, Big 12), have remaining games at Iowa State and at home against Texas Tech after they go on the road to Fort Worth this weekend.
