A look at Texas’ quarterback depth ahead of the 2022 season

The good news for Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is that his quarterback room has much more depth this season.

The bad news is that he has to navigate another position battle this offseason. The quarterback competition between Hudson Card and Casey Thompson last season did not go as planned, as neither signal-caller securely took control of the job.

Texas fans are hoping that this season won’t result in a constant change at quarterback. With Thompson off to Nebraska for another position battle of his own, former Ohio State quarterback Quinn Ewers will battle alongside Card for the starting role for Texas this offseason, which should provide another exciting spring game storyline to watch.

Card has reportedly excelled in offseason workouts thus far, with an increased leadership role. Ewers is more of the reserve type and lacks playing experience, but is considered one of the best quarterback prospects of all time.

Sarkisian has a tough decision to make in terms of thrusting Ewers into the lineup and allowing him to go through the freshman growing pains, or being patient with the former five-star and letting Card run the show in the meantime.

Regardless of how it shakes out, with the additions of Ewers and Maalik Murphy this offseason, the Longhorns have improved the overall talent and depth significantly at the position.

Here’s how Texas’ quarterback room looks ahead of the 2022 season:

1a: Hudson Card

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Ohio State transfer Quinn Ewers is widely considered the future of Texas football, but he still has to earn the job over Hudson Card this offseason. It’s obviously way too early to determine who deserves the starting nod in Week 1, but due to Card’s experience and increased leadership, we’ll give him with the slight edge for now. If Card is able to find confidence and consistency in his play, he could make significant strides this year. He showed spurts of potential last season. Regardless, his leash will be very short if he does in fact begin the season as the starter.

1b: Quinn Ewers

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Quinn Ewers did not play his senior season at Southlake Carroll High School and saw very limited action (a few handoffs) at Ohio State last season. His talent is undeniable and his potential is through the roof, but he won’t be gifted the job on a silver platter. He needs to earn it. It’s more than likely Ewers will take control of the starting job at some point throughout the 2022 season, but it’s unclear how soon he may be thrust onto the field. Former Westlake head coach Todd Dodge believes Texas should be patient with him, rather than feed him to the wolves.

2: Maalik Murphy

Maalik Murphy is considered a strong developmental quarterback prospect for Texas. There are several different paths that could eventually play out for him. If he stays and develops a couple of years behind Ewers, he could have a very successful collegiate career as a starter in Austin once Ewers departs. However, there are too many unknown variables ahead of him right now. Will the loser of the Card/Ewers battle eventually transfer? If Arch Manning chooses to come to Texas, will Murphy transfer? It seems to be a ‘wait and see how it plays out’ scenario for Murphy at this point, but in the meantime he provides solid depth at the position.

3: Charles Wright

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Charles Wright is a great depth piece to this quarterback room. While he won’t receive the starting nod unless the three quarterbacks ahead of him either get injured or transfer, he does have plenty of potential and could either stay at Texas as a fourth-stringer, or at some point transfer to a smaller program to receive a chance to start.

4: Ben Ballard

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As a former walk-on quarterback, Ben Ballard will primarily be used as a depth piece and is currently buried on the depth chart. However, he was called upon in small spurts last season due to the injuries to Hudson Card and Casey Thompson. With the new additions of Ewers and Murphy, that likely won’t happen again.

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