“Why would Sark not start Arch”: CFB fans react as reports of Quinn Ewers’ torn oblique from the 2024 season surfaces

Quinn Ewers reportedly suffered an oblique injury during the 2024 college football season, which kept him out for some games. The quarterback left Texas' Week 3 game against UTSA in the second quarter, giving Arch Manning the chance to play significant minutes.

However, the latest report from NFL insider Tom Pelissero claims Ewers had a torn oblique before the Week 3 game. The injury actually occurred in the Week 2 game and the quarterback had to play the entire season with it.

"I'm told that he has fully recovered now from a torn oblique that he played with basically this entire season,” Pelissero reports from Indianapolis. "It happened in the Michigan game. It got worse over the course of time. But he is healthy now, his weight up to about 215 pounds."

The report has led to a series of reactions among Longhorns fans. Many asked why Steve Sarkisian didn't start Arch Manning during the season while Quinn Ewers was battling the injury and couldn't give his best. Here's a look at some of the reactions online.

"The real question is why would Sark not start Arch over a guy with a torn oblique?" one fan asked.

Here are some more reactions from fans:

"He killed our chances to win. And he turned Kentucky and A&M from blowouts to close games. Manning should have played," a fan wrote.

"Another QB playing thru injury that Texas fans didn’t deserve," another fan wrote.

"We all suspected it. Glad it’s public news now," a fan commented.

"Why the hell wasn’t arch playing???" another fan commented.

Steve Sarkisian confirms Quinn Ewers' oblique injury after the UTSA game

After the Week 3 game against UTSA, Steve Sarkisian confirmed that Quinn Ewers had a torn oblique. The quarterback left the game in the first half and never returned. The coach was, however, not certain about the extent of the injury.

"It's an oblique strain, an abdomen strain. It remains to be seen, the seriousness of that, the length of that, but that's what it is," Sarkisian said in his postgame news conference after the UTSA game. "We don't think it's anything structural or broken.”

A few days after the game, ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel reported that the injury wasn't serious and the quarterback is only expected to miss a few games. This brought some calm among fans as Ewers was leading the Heisman Trophy race then.

"Sources: Quinn Ewers ab injury isn't as serious as initially feared," Thamel reported. "He's likely to miss the Louisiana Monroe game this week but is 'week to week' after leaving the UTSA game with what Steve Sarkisian termed an abdominal strain."

Quinn Ewers eventually missed the games against ULM and Mississippi State before returning for the Red River Rivalry after the team's bye week. Tom Pelissero’s report has, however, shown that the injury did not totally heal, with the quarterback having to play through it.