Steve Sarkisian said he temporarily pulled Quinn Ewers from Texas’ upset defeat to Georgia on Saturday because the Longhorns quarterback was feeling “uneasy”, adding more fuel to debate over the starting job.

Ewers endured a chastening start to Saturday’s 30-15 defeat to the Bulldogs and he was hooked from the field with a little less than five minutes remaining before the half with only 17 passing yards and an interception to his name. Backup Arch Manning, who started two games when Ewers was injured last month, stepped in for two series with the Longhorns trailing 20-0.

The prodigious redshirt freshman did not fare much better, going three of six through the air for 19 yards, failing to score any points and giving up a fumble on his second series as the No. 1 Longhorns wilted under pressure en route to their first defeat of the season.

Confusingly for many, Ewers returned for the start of the second half and produced an improved display, finishing the day with 211 yards and two touchdowns. But it was not enough as Texas suffered a brutal reality check after a blowout win over Red River rivals Oklahoma seven days previously.

Head coach Sarkisian said his plan was for Ewers to return to the game after the interval, but the move certainly renews discussion over the Longhorns’ quarterback position. Ewers is widely projected to be a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but an oblique injury suffered last month gave Manning a chance to impress.

Steve Sarkisian speaks to the media

Steve Sarkisian reignited questions over the quarterback position with his decision to briefly bench Ewers against Georgia. ( 

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The nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning obliged, putting up impressive performances in blowout victories over Louisiana Monroe and Mississippi State. Questions were raised about whether Manning had done enough to retain the starting job, but Ewers was back in the lineup for the 34-3 win over the Sooners at the Cotton Bowl last week. And those questions are sure to resurface after the peculiar finish to the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

“I felt Quinn was a little uneasy, and I just felt like giving him a chance to kind of step back, regroup,” Sarkisian said after Saturday’s defeat. “I didn’t know if we get a series or two with Arch [Manning], depending on how much time was remaining in the half on the clock. So we just told Quinn, ‘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.’

“At the end of the day, Quinn’s our starter. I think we’ve got to do a better job around him. I think he would tell you he could play better, but we’ve got to coach better, everybody’s got to be better for our offensive football team to perform better.”

Texas is sure to lose its No. 1 ranking in Sunday’s AP poll after being beaten by No. 5 Georgia. The Longhorns return to action on Saturday at Vanderbilt.