Brendan Maloney-USA Today Images
Prior to the 2013 season, sophomore quarterback Connor Brewer made the decision to transfer away from the Texas Longhorns program and return to his home state of Arizona to play out his last two years of eligibility for the Arizona Wildcats. The circumstances surrounding the Texas Longhorns quarterbacking conundrum this season suggest he might have missed an opportunity had his patience been just a little more prolonged.
This morning the University of Texas released that junior quarterback David Ash would not be available for next Saturday’s Red River Shootout matchup with the Oklahoma Sooners due to lingering effects from a concussion he suffered in Week 2 against the BYU Cougars. Ash played the first-half of the game against the Kansas State Wildcats, but has been away since. Since Ash has appeared in less than 30% of Texas’ games so far this season, there is a small possibility the program could file for a medical redshirt for him should he not appear for the Longhorns again in 2013.
Given this, Texas has been forced to play senior quarterback Case McCoy who is a game manager at best, and doesn’t necessarily leave them in the best position to win — much less be competitive — as the bulk of the Big 12 schedule renders its ugly head beginning with the RRS. With McCoy largely limping along, the debate has raged surrounding the redshirt of true freshman Tyrone Swoopes who many believe should be playing — at least a little — while Ash is out of action. It’s a matter of whether Texas has the luxury to keep Swoopes’ redshirt intact at a time when the program’s short-term future hangs in the balance.
If Brewer was still on campus, on the depth chart, the entire quarterbacking picture looks different. Whether Brewer would have won the job over McCoy is debatable, and could even be an apples and oranges comparison, but with him back home in Arizona there’s no comparison to be made. We’ll likely never know the details behind why Brewer chose to leave the Forty Acres, but you have to wonder if Texas did everything in their power to keep him from transferring with even the slightest possibility of the current scenario playing out.
Obviously, it’s impossible to plan for every contingency that fate can throw your way, but anyone would be hard-pressed to argue that Brewer’s decision to leave Texas was a missed opportunity both for the quarterback and for the program.
Only Connor Brewer knows why Connor Brewer left, and ultimately that’s all that matters, but the fact he did further highlights the trouble the Texas offense finds itself in from week to week.
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Kris Hughes is a Senior Writer and Business Analyst for Rant Sports.
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