Texas star quarterback Quinn Ewers exited Saturday’s 56-7 victory over UTSA early in the second quarter due to a strained abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said.
Ewers, a leading Heisman Trophy candidate, started to limp off the field before dropping to the turf and calling over to the sideline with 12:19 left in the first half. He was taken to the medical tent for evaluation and was soon ruled out of the contest.
Ewers went to the locker room and returned to the sideline in street clothes.
Ewers completed 14 of 16 passes for 185 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for No. 2 Texas before exiting.
Highly regarded backup Arch Manning replaced Ewers and he accounted for five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing). Manning completed 9 of 12 passes for 223 yards.
“Quinn has an oblique strain, an abdomen strain,” Sarkisian said afterward. “It remains to be seen, you know, the seriousness of that or the length of that, but that’s what it is. We don’t think it’s anything structural or broken — it was an odd play. But again, that gave Arch an opportunity to get some valuable playing time and experience.”
Manning tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Moore Jr. on his first play.
On Texas’ next possession, Manning scored on a 67-yard touchdown run on the second play to give the Longhorns a 28-7 lead.
Ewers threw for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdowns against six interceptions last season while leading Texas to a Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff appearance.
