Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers has missed multiple games each of the last two seasons with injuries. It happens. Football is a contact sport.

But what’s notable is how Ewers came back each time ready to go. He didn’t need a game or two to shake off rust or get back up to speed. He was rip-roaring ready to go.

Chances are Ewers will look in similar fashion should he return against No. 19 Oklahoma on Oct. 12. Coach Steve Sarkisian has not said that Ewers will play or even start in the Cotton Bowl. But he’s talking in optimistic tones and knocking on wood, whenever the chance presents itself.

Asked to describe the process of keeping Ewers ready during rehab, Sarkisian said, “I think it starts right when they get injured. We always look to every player, most notably the quarterback, when he gets injured, we want to pull them in even tighter.”

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See where ESPN’s analysis ranks Texas football’s chances to go undefeated the rest of the season

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian doesn’t care about the polls, and he sure doesn’t care about mathematical projections. But it’s interesting to see which team still has the perceived inside track to go the distance undefeated. Hint: it’s not Alabama or Tennessee. ESPN still projects second-ranked Texas (5-0, 1-0 SEC) to have the best shot at […]

Ewers suffered a broken clavicle against Alabama in the second game of the 2022 season. He would miss the next three games and return against OU. Ewers completed 21 of 31 passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-0 romp.

Ewers went on to finish the season with 2,177 passing yards and 15 touchdowns total as Texas went 8-5.

Then last season, Ewers suffered a right shoulder injury (grade 2 AC joint sprain) against Houston in mid-October. He missed the next two games against BYU and Kansas State. Ewers returned to the lineup against TCU and completed 22 of 33 passes for 317 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Horns won 29-26.

Not only that, but Ewers was in the driver’s seat guiding Texas to the Big 12 title and College Football Playoff.

Ewers suffered his strained abdominal injury in the third game this season against UTSA. He went to the locker room that night but returned to the sideline in street clothes. He was on the sideline the next two weeks wearing a earpiece, listening to the play calls and rallying teammates in the fourth quarter against Louisiana-Monroe.

Texas offensive line protecting so well that QBs Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning are back there ‘cooking steaks’

Longhorns allowing one sack per game this season, half the per-game average allowed last year.

“We we’re at practice, Quinn is engaged,” Sarkisian said. “He’s in every meeting. He's talking about the game plan Friday night. We go through the call sheet with the quarterbacks. He’s talking through different things on Saturday. He’s wearing the earpiece. So we keep them engaged on that front.

“And then throughout the week, I'm really trying to assess the things that I think he's most comfortable with,” the coach added. “And if he’s going to play, I’ve already kind of listed out 10-15, maybe 20, things that I think he feels really good about, and we'll probably go in that direction if he were to play so that he's running stuff that he's had some success with throughout the week.”

Sarkisian said that way, the coach himself feels more comfortable calling plays for Ewers that the coach likes instead of plays the quarterback may not be able to handle.

“The stubborn me would still call that play,” Sarkisian said. “The guy that tries to step back and try to put his players in the best position to be successful goes to his bucket of the stuff that I thought he did well throughout the week.”