On Saturday, the Longhorns opened the season at home against Louisiana-Monroe, and quickly sent the Warhawks packing with a dominant 52-10 victory. After suffering an early first quarter interception to the Warhawks, redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers settled in quickly and let his playmaking teammates do what they do best – make plays.
Following the game, Sarkisian noted that it was important for him to remove the “training wheels” from Quinn Ewers and thought that the early adversity that the young quarterback faced might have actually been beneficial. Furthermore, he noted that Ewers is “astute enough to know that he has some really talented people around him,” and was happy about the way that he bounced back from his first-drive struggles.
From early on in Saturday’s game, it became evident that Ewers has already developed a connection with sophomore tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders, who finished the game with 85 receiving yards (leading the team) and a touchdown reception. In fact, Ja’Tavion’s game-high 85 receiving yards might very well be the first time in over a decade that a Longhorns tight end led the team in receiving yards at the end of a contest.
Despite the lopsided scoreboard to end the game, the Longhorns stat sheet was relatively balanced across the board as the team made an impact in all three facets of the game. For example, D’Shawn Jamison had himself a night with a blocked punt on special teams which, was returned for a touchdown by Keilan Robinson, and a third quarter pick-six interception on defense. However, Texas’s running back room was not left out of the scoring action as Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, Jonathon Brooks and Keilan Robinson all found the end zone at one point or another, with Keilan’s score being the result of Jamison’s blocked punt.
Additionally, along with Jamison, Longhorns defenders DeMarvion Overshown and Barryn Sorrell were flying to the ball and made several drive-stopping efforts. To finish the night, Overshown led the team with a game-high eight tackles and Sorrell accounted for a game-high 1.5 sacks.
Following the game, Sarkisian noted that the coaching staff noticed that Sorrell had “potential,” and that the sophomore edge rusher has “worked on his craft and cut it loose tonight.”
Overall, the Longhorns had a successful season-opening game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium but, now, the team must look ahead to the Alabama Crimson Tide, led by Nick Saban and co., who are looming. The Longhorns will host Alabama next Saturday with the kickoff set for 11 A.M. (CT). The matchup will be aired on FOX with ESPN’s College Gameday also set to be in town.
Game Stats:
- QB Quinn Ewers: 16/24, 225 passing yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
- RB Bijan Robinson: 10 rushes, 71 rushing yards and 2 total TDs
- TE Ja’Tavion Sanders: 6 receptions, 85 receiving yards and 1 TD
- LB DeMarvion Overshown: 8 tackles
- CB D’Shawn Jamison: 2 tackles, 1 INT and 1 TD
