College Football

Texas QB Quinn Ewers will start Saturday vs. TCU

Updated Nov. 9, 2023 5:58 p.m. ET

No. 7 Texas is getting a major lift ahead of its battle against in-state rival TCU on Saturday, as starting quarterback Quinn Ewers will make his return from a shoulder injury and will start for the Longhorns against the Horned Frogs, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters Thursday.

Ewers missed two games after suffering a shoulder injury in a 31-24 victory at Houston on Oct. 21. Sarkisian said that Ewers was not limited at all in practice on Thursday.

"When he came back to practice this week, he didn’t show a lot of rust, physically or mentally," Sarkisian said of his QB. "There wasn’t a throw he couldn't make."

Getting Ewers back is huge for Texas, which is still very much a College Football Playoff contender at this point. The Longhorns are 8-1 with three regular-season games left on the road against TCU and Iowa State, then at home vs. Texas Tech. They need to win out to play for a Big 12 championship and keep their CFP hopes intact.

As of Monday, Ewers was "day to day," per Sarkisian. But the coach said they would re-evaluate later in the week.

"We’ll continue to see how he feels," Sarkisian said Monday. "Ultimately, this is a ‘How does he feel? What does it feel like? Where is he at? [situation].’ I can give my assessment on the capability to operate our offense, but ultimately, how does he feel? And so we’ll navigate that this week."

The news of Ewers' return also had an impact on the betting lines, as Texas quickly moved from a 9.5-point favorite to a 12.5-point favorite vs. TCU.

Backup quarterback Maalik Murphy filled in for Ewers the last two weeks in wins over BYU and Kansas State. In those games, he completed 57.7% of his passes for 418 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Up until his injury, Ewers had completed 70.9% of his passes for 1,915 yards with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions through seven games.

Coming off a trip to the national championship game, TCU has struggled this season and enters Saturday’s matchup with a 4-5 record. But the Horned Frogs knocked off the Horns in Austin a year ago, 17-10.

In addition to the Ewers news, Sarkisian said that safeties Jalen Catalon and Kitan Crawford, who have been battling injuries, will also be available on Saturday.

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.