Sports
Will Braves first baseman Matt Olson be the last MLB Iron Man of the 21st century?
It was 29 years ago this month that Cal Ripken Jr. showed us what a 20th-century Iron Man looked like. By which we mean this.
OTD in 1995, Cal Ripken Jr. took a victory lap for the ages after playing in his 2,131st consecutive game and officially breaking Lou Gehrig’s historic streak đđ§Ąđ€ pic.twitter.com/hzfFD2ciNz
â MLB (@MLB) September 6, 2024
But in case you hadnât noticed, itâs a very different time to be a baseball player in North America. So on that note, hereâs what a 21st-century Iron Man looks like.
Thatâs Matt Olson, who may not be as iconic as Ripken but still is a man with two current Iron Man claims to fame:
1) He has been an Atlanta Brave for three seasons now. You could locate him at first base in every darned game the Braves have played in that span â all 473 of them, the most games played by anyone in baseball since the start of 2022.
2) But thatâs not all, because if you roll the Iron Man clock back to his time in Oakland, Olson just blew past a very cool round number: 600 games played in a row.
So ⊠only another 2,000, and heâll be breathing down Ripkenâs neck hairs. Right? You think heâll take one of those Ripken-esque victory laps when he breaks the Iron Man record ⊠in 2037?
âWhat is that â like, 18 years?â Olson said, with a mathematically incorrect chuckle. âYeah, if Iâm playing when Iâm 48, Iâll take a victory lap.â
Aw heck, itâs only another 13 years. So heâs almost there. Or not. But forget that Ripken stuff. Weâre actually calling your attention to Olsonâs streak because he is about to pass another legendary name. And once he does, heâll carve out a slice of Iron Man history that will be all his.
This Thursday, according to STATS Perform, Olson is in line to play in his 477th consecutive game as a first baseman. And why is that so special? Because he will tie Pete Rose that day for the longest streak of games played at first base in the last 80 years.
Once Olson passes Rose, heâll own the second-longest streak at first base since Lou Gehrig â behind only Frank (Buck) McCormick of the 1938-42 Cincinnati Reds (652 in a row). And it will give Olson the fourth-longest streak at first of anyone in the modern era not named Gehrig, trailing just McCormick, Fred Luderus (533) and Gus Suhr (505).
âThose are some cool names for sure,â Olson said. âEspecially nowadays.â
Fortunately for us, he then helpfully supplied his own definition of ânowadays.â
Nowadays, load management has become a thing in this sport, even though, in Olsonâs eyes, âweâre not full NBA.â And nowadays, matchups have also become a thing. Never in history have there been fewer true everyday players, as more teams play platoon-advantage, mix-and-match lineup bingo all over the diamond.
So letâs think about this. Will there ever be another Ripken? Will there ever even be another Matt Olson? Is the whole Iron Man concept dying before our eyes? And if it is, is that a good thing â a smart, scientific, health-driven thing? Or is it another once-romantic baseball phenomenon that is being driven out of the sport by the new wave of deep, analytical thinking?
All Olson set out to do when he began this streak was play, and be there for his team. But his streak has also given us a reason to dig in on what this all means. So letâs do that, OK?
Letâs talk history
Before we get into why Matt Olson does what he does â and why the Braves are all-in on him doing it â letâs look deeper into just how rare this is.
Life after Ripken â Did you know that since Ripkenâs streak of 2,632 consecutive games played ended in 1998, Olson is only the second player to have a consecutive games streak of 600 games or longer? The other: Miguel Tejada, who played in 1,152 in a row from 2000-07.
Heâs well positioned â But itâs the number of games Olson has strung together, while playing defense at his position, that truly separates his streak from almost every other recent Iron Man streak.
Even Tejada played âonlyâ 807 consecutive games at shortstop (from 2000-05), according to STATS. So Olson could pass him, for the longest streak at any position since Ripken, by April 2027.
And by the end of this season, only six men would rank ahead of Olson for the longest streaks at any position in the last 80 years:
SS Cal Ripken Jr. |
2,216 (1982-1996) |
SS Miguel Tejada |
878 (2000-2005) |
2B Nellie Fox  |
798 (1955-1960) |
CF Richie Ashburn |
694 (1950-1954) |
SS Roy McMillan |
583 (1951-1955) |
3B Eddie Yost |
576 (1951-1955) |
1B Matt Olson |
481* (2022-24) |
(Source: STATS Perform; *projected total at end of season)
A relevant side note about that list: Just two of those six players (Ripken and Tejada) compiled those streaks in the 162-game era, now six decades old.
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Whereâs Garvey? We know what youâre thinking: What about Steve Garvey, who famously strung together a 1,207-game streak from 1975-83, as the first baseman for the Dodgers and Padres? Excellent question!
Garveyâs streak is one of three 1,000-gamers (or longer) in the last half-century. But it didnât make the list above because he extended it seven times with pinch-hitting appearances. Therefore, it doesnât qualify for the leaderboard of longest streaks playing first base. And thatâs an important distinction.
Whoâs on first â Would it shock you to know that itâs not out of the question that Olson could catch Gehrig himself? It stunned us. But weâre not talking about Gehrigâs fabled 2,130-game streak that Ripken passed. This would be only his longest streak while playing first base.
Did you know that Gehrig occasionally wore an outfield glove when the Yankees needed him to? Look it up.
And because he did, his longest consecutive-games streak while playing first was âonlyâ 885 games, from 1925-30, according to STATS. That means that if Olson can keep going, he could grind past that Gehrig streak in July 2027 ⊠and (amazingly) rank No. 1 in the modern era. That could actually happen.
At that point, only two men in the modern era would stand in front of Olson at any position:
Cal Ripken Jr. |
2,216 at SS (1982-1996) |
Everett Scott |
1,307 at SS (1916-1925) |
(Source: STATS Perform)
Are we getting ahead of ourselves? Of course we are. But what the heck. Olson has no intention of pulling the plug on this streak any time soon. So heâs closer to big-time Iron Man history than anyone seems to have noticed. Now letâs look at what drives him.
Why Matt Olson just keeps on posting
Long before Matt Olson began streaking toward Rose and Gehrig, he played all 162 games for the Aâs back in 2018. He was 24. It was his first full season in the big leagues. But he didnât join the 162-Game Club just because the Aâs had no one else to play first. No, even back then, Olson was a man with a purpose.
âItâs kind of how I was wired, growing up, a little bit anyway,â he said. âBut when I got to the big leagues, Marcus Semien was there in Oakland. And he was adamant about playing every day.â
You hear Semienâs name a lot when this subject comes up. Maybe because the Rangersâ second baseman is about to rack up his eighth season playing 155 games or more, in just 10 seasons as a regular in the big leagues. How many other players have done that over these last 10 seasons? Yep, none.
Semien has had three seasons in that span when he played all 162 games. Thatâs tied for the most among all active players. Want to guess whoâs tied with him? Right. Matt Olson.
So even as he was still figuring out how to be an everyday player, Olson had Semienâs voice in his ear, preaching the meaning of literally playing every day. All these years later, that voice is still there. He was so conscious of Semienâs determination to will his way into the lineup every day, it was hard for Olson â and the rest of those Aâs â to envision what would happen if anyone even tried to make Semien take a day off.
âI donât think anybody wanted to find out,â Olson said. âI remember he had, like, a little wrist thing going on one time â some inflammation, that sort of thing. The staff wanted to give him a couple days off. I donât know exactly how it went. I just know there were some words exchanged. Then sure enough, heâs in the lineup that night.
âWhat Marcus always preached was: You owe it to your teammates and the fans (to be out there). And you get paid to play. Youâre not going to be 100 percent every game. But you know, a lot of times, Marcus Semien at 85 percent is better than a lot of other peopleâs 100 percent. So you just have to be able to find how to navigate it, maybe cut some workload down before the game ⊠so you find a way to be out there.â
Now, thatâs exactly what Olson preaches to the players around him. He says that since he arrived in Atlanta, he has never once had to fight his way into the lineup â and has never been physically hurting enough that his health even became a question.
âThe way I look at it, youâre either hurt hurt, or youâre able to go,â he said. âSo knock on wood, I havenât had a lot of those, like, halfway injuries â you know, something where they tell you rest would help but youâre not totally hurt.â
So heâs a firm believer in the old Marcus Semien adage: If itâs not broken, you can play. But he also has seen enough of his teammates go down around him that he knows how fortunate he is that all that stuff that can happen in baseball hasnât happened to him.
âThereâs a ton of luck involved with that,â he said. âYou know, shoot, just look at our last 30 games, of (all the) guys getting hit by pitches.â
There was one day in September 2022 when his manager, Brian Snitker, didnât start him, on a Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. It was Game 152 of Olsonâs first season in Atlanta. So his streak wasnât a topic yet. And Snitker acknowledged he wanted to give his first baseman some kind of breather â but knew going in it almost certainly wouldnât be for all nine innings.
âI said (to him): âYou know what? Weâve got to win, like 12-0, for you not to play in that game,â Snitker recalled.
So sure enough, he subbed Olson in for defense in the eighth inning. Olson has started every day since. But that can only happen if his team buys into the meaning of that. So letâs look at âŠ
Why the Braves are on board
Is less really more? People may think that way now in the inner sanctum of most franchises. But in Atlanta, they have a different motto:
More is more.
Nowhere else in baseball is the concept of posting up more ingrained in the culture than it is in the heartbeat of the Atlanta Braves. Remember 2021, when their entire starting infield played between 156 and 160 games, missing 13 games combined? That wasnât an aberration. Itâs what they do.
Most seasons of 157+ games, 2018-23
Braves |
14 |
Royals |
7 |
Blue Jays |
6 |
Most seasons of 162 games, 2018-23
Braves |
5 |
Other 14 NL teams combined |
5 |
So part of why heâs so committed to going out there, Olson said, is that he grew up in Georgia as a Braves fan ⊠âand thatâs just what theyâve done forever. Maybe itâs because maybe I grew up watching the Braves, and I loved seeing the guys in the lineup every day.â
That work ethic was preached by Chipper Jones, back when he was playing more than 150 games in eight seasons in a row. It was passed down to Freddie Freeman, who had six seasons as a Brave in which he missed five games or fewer. Now, itâs Olson ⊠and Austin Riley ⊠and Ozzie Albies ⊠who keep that culture alive, broken bones notwithstanding.
âI donât believe that itâs the organization thatâs setting the culture,â Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said. âThe players are the ones that set the culture. Thatâs impacted by what players we acquire. But look, the âGames Playedâ column is something we looked at with Matt Olson. ⊠Obviously, heâs a very good player, but thatâs part of what drew us to him as well.â
And never have the Braves appreciated that quality more than this year, when it feels as though some sort of freak injury has knocked out everybody on the roster ⊠except Matt Olson.
But it isnât just the Bravesâ injury epidemic that Olson has had to dodge this year. Itâs a force that can sometimes be even harder to avoid:
The Noise.
When you hit 54 homers with a .993 OPS one year ⊠and then sag to 25 homers with a .764 OPS the next, itâs amazing how all those standing ovations can turn into The Noise. When your OPS plunges by more than 200 points, The Noise can turn a guyâs dedication to playing every day into a whole different narrative: Heâs selfish. He needs a rest. Heâs killing that team. Blahblahblah.
That noise is out there. But if the Braves hear it, or care about it, theyâre doing an excellent job of disguising it.
âI hear it,â Snitker said. âBut I donât pay attention to it, because Iâll talk to the player. And if he feels like he needs a day off, then I will. But I never (thought that), watching (Olson) and how he handled everything. It wasnât going like he really wanted. But you know what? He came to work every day, the same guy, and I never saw that he was tired. ⊠So I just never felt like he needed it.â
Olson, not surprisingly, seconds that motion.
âYou never know when your day is going to be,â he said. âYou know, if itâs going bad, sure, I can see the benefit of sometimes sitting back and watching the game. But it doesnât solve the problem. The only thing you can do is go out there and work your way out of something thatâs not going well. So itâs never been something thatâs really crossed my mind.â
But thereâs a bigger question out there â and it isnât only about Matt Olson. So letâs just ask it âŠ
Is it OK to ignore load management?
If Cal Ripken Jr. was just arriving in the big leagues in 2024, what would the odds be that heâd be chasing down Lou Gehrigâs record someday? What do you think ⊠10 percent? ⊠5 percent? ⊠0 percent?
I asked that question of one of baseballâs brightest workload-management authorities, Casey Mulholland, the other day. He found it just as intriguing as youâd imagine.
âIt would sort of depend on what organization heâs playing for,â Mulholland said. âIt would depend on how much they value the idea of him being a franchise player for them.â
Would he be playing for a team that didnât believe anybody should play more than 150 games? Or would he be playing for a team that did what Ripkenâs Orioles did back in the day â listen to him all those times when he said: âIâm not really hurt. Let me play. I can do this.â
âPlayers are still having that discussion,â said Mulholland, the founder/lead developer at KineticPro Performance in Tampa, Fla. âJust now, itâs becoming much more scientific, a much more mathematical discussion, versus, âHey, I feel good,â and weâre going to talk (about those) feelings and put them back out there on the field. I think thatâs the difference.â
You probably can guess where the Braves stand on the load-management spectrum. But when Snitker was asked, point blank, whether he believes in load management, he didnât hedge.
âNo,â he replied, succinctly. âI think these guys train to do this every day, right? Because (thatâs) the Bravesâ culture. ⊠Weâve had guys with broken bones and things like that. But (that mindset of playing every day), I think that keeps them from getting the soft-tissue stuff and pulled muscles and everything.
âIâve learned that over the years. I used to think that, but after being with these guys and talking to the guys that are doing it every day, yeah, theyâve made a believer out of me.â
 You should know that even though Snitker is 68 and a baseball lifer, he regularly displays a balance between new-age analytic concepts and age-old baseball wisdom. But which of those is âLess is Moreâ? We ask because thereâs no simpler way to explain the idea behind load management than that: Less really can be more. And the science proves it.
Mulholland often uses the analogy of a guy running a marathon who had never trained to run those 26 miles. We all know how that works out.
âSo then guys get fatigued, and then guys get hurt,â Mulholland said. âAnd thatâs the idea of load management. Weâre trying to avoid fatigue.â
But to be done right, load management needs to be nuanced. Wearable technology can provide important, detailed information on what athletes are and arenât capable of. But Mulholland asks: Are teams actually using that data? Are those athletes even granting them permission to use it? And if not, and teams are just using arbitrary limits â 100 pitches for every pitcher, 150 games a year for every position player â that can create a whole different set of issues.
Or then thereâs the even more basic question: What if this guy has trained to run that marathon?
And thatâs exactly how Anthopoulos looks at Matt Olson â as just the latest star player heâs been around who has devoted his life, on and off the field, to the idea that itâs important to play every day.
âSo if heâs not on the injury report and heâs not complaining of anything,â Anthopoulos said, âweâve just had too many years and too many examples of (what heâs capable of). The guy was a top-four MVP candidate last year, and played every day. ⊠Heâs been an elite player with all those games played. So itâs hard to just all of a sudden point to that and say he needs a rest.â
If fatigue was the problem this year, how do we explain why August was Olsonâs best month (eight home runs, .573 slugging percentage, .912 OPS) of the season?
The Braves have looked long and hard at the concept of load management. But they also believe in the value of a centerpiece player who sends a message to everyone around him that the quest for greatness begins with work ethic.
âItâs all just been a mentality,â Anthopoulos said. âAnd look, obviously, some of it is luck. You can get hit by a pitch, and so on. But those guys that post and play every day, year after year, I donât think itâs a coincidence. I donât think itâs luck. Thereâs definitely a common trait to all these guys.â
And Matt Olson is all about that trait. He knows his streak will end someday, because all streaks do. But when it does, it wonât be because he and his team suddenly have discovered a newfound belief in load management.
âIâm not a fan of it,â Olson said. âI mean, I can see the reasons for it. Itâs a long season. But itâs also a game of rhythm and flow. And I would rather just continue to go.â
â The Athleticâs David OâBrien contributed to this report.Â
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(Top photo: Nick Wosika / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Sports
Falcons' Kirk Cousins leads miraculous last-minute drive to shock Eagles on the road
A stale offensive game turned into an absolute shocker on “Monday Night Football,” as the Atlanta Falcons took down the Philadelphia Eagles, 22-21, thanks to a brilliant Kirk Cousins last-minute drive.Â
The key play of the game was a third-and-short situation in the Falconsâ red zone, where quarterback Jalen Hurts did play action instead of running the ball to kill more clock, and he was looking for Saquon Barkley.Â
Barkley, who had a tremendous Eagles debut with three touchdowns, appeared destined for a first down that wouldâve iced the game â had he caught the ball. With the drop, the clock stopped, bringing on kicker Jake Elliott for the field goal to make it an 18-15 game.Â
So, with 1:39 left on the clock, Cousins and the Falconsâ offense, with no timeouts, had a chance to drive down the field and score a touchdown with the extra point needing to be hit for the victory.Â
Well, Cousins got to work, finding his tight end Kyle Pitts for 11 yards and then two catches by Darnell Mooney for a total 47 yards to get in Philadelphia’s red zone.Â
Then, on third-and-5 from the Philadelphia 7-yard line, Drake London ran a perfect out route that Cousins found him on in the end zone and the Lincoln Financial Field crowd went dead silent.Â
JALEN HURTS SHARES HEARTFELT WORDS WITH EX-EAGLES TEAMMATE JASON KELCE: âI LOVE YOUâ
A small wrinkle in the Falconsâ potential game-winning extra point came when London was called for excessive celebration, moving the 33-yard attempt back to 48 yards. But Younghoe Koo buried it down the middle.Â
The Eagles, with all of their timeouts, still had a chance to get into field goal range for Elliott to save the night, but Hurts, who had a great game prior, threw an interception to safety Jessie Bates III to wipe out that possibility.Â
The Falcons and Eagles are now 1-1 after the stunner in Philly.Â
This game looked all but wrapped up when C.J. Gardner-Johnson stonewalled Bijan Robinson on fourth-and-1, turning the Falcons over on downs after the Eagles had just tush-pushed Hurts into the end zone to give themselves a three-point lead after Barkley had a two-point conversion.Â
But the saying it ainât over until itâs over had another example added to its ranks thanks to some clutch passing by Cousins, who finished 20-of-29 through the air for 241 yards with two touchdowns.Â
Cousins had previously struggled in this game, and some were wondering if that repaired Achilles was bothering him as he was leaving passes short all night. But he let one fly in the third quarter to Mooney, who hauled in a 41-yard touchdown to give the Falcons a 15-10 lead. It was the longest play from scrimmage in a night where Mooney led Atlanta with 88 yards on just three receptions.Â
For the Eagles, DeVonta Smith, playing the role of top receiver with A.J. Brown sidelined due to a hamstring injury that likely has him out next week as well, had the gameâs only touchdown before Mooney got in. He caught a seven-yard strike from Hurts in the second quarter.Â
Robinson was a key contributor for the Falcons on the ground, having a game-high 97 yards rushing on 14 carries. Barkley was two yards short of him on 22 carries, while Hurts had 85 yards on 13 tuck-and-runs.Â
Hurts was efficient before that game-ending interception, throwing for 183 yards on 23-of-30 passing.Â
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Sports
Yoshinobu Yamamoto bends but doesn't break as Dodgers split series versus Braves
Last week, Yoshinobu Yamamoto looked almost unhittable in his long-awaited return from the injured list.
In Monday nightâs encore at Truist Park, the rookie Japanese right-hander had to be unbreakable instead.
In all four of Yamamotoâs innings against the Atlanta Braves, the leadoff man reached base. All four times, they eventually made it to third.
But, in a 9-0 Dodgersâ win that secured a four-game series split, Yamamoto managed to escape each jam, pitching four scoreless innings in another encouraging sign for his October prospects.
âIt wasnât as sharp command-wise as his first one back, but he made pitches when he needed to,â manager Dave Roberts said. âI just love the way he navigated.â
Yamamoto was not as crisp Monday as he was in his return from the injured list last week against the Chicago Cubs, when he struck out eight batters and gave up just a lone unearned run in his first start in three months after battling a strained rotator cuff.
Against the Braves, Yamamoto didnât replicate his nearly perfect fastball command, contributing to a couple of first-inning walks. He sprayed more off-speed pitches, leaving him routinely behind the count. He also only averaged around 95-96 mph with his heater, a tick down from his adrenaline-fueled return six days previous, while giving up four hits (three of them for extra bases).
Yet, every time his back was against the wall, Yamamoto found a way to respond.
âI focused on one hitter at a time,â Yamamoto said through an interpreter. âAnd stayed calm.â
With runners on the corners in the first, he induced a weak ground ball to end the inning. After both a leadoff double from Sean Murphy in the second inning and a leadoff triple from Ramon Laureano in the fourth, Yamamoto retired the next three batters in a row.
The only time the $325-million offseason signing needed some help was in the third. Following a leadoff single from Michael Harris II, Jorge Soler hit a double to deep center that had Harris trying to score from first. From second base, however, Kiké Hernåndez made a perfect tumbling relay throw to the plate, completing half a front flip to gun down Harris in a momentum-shifting sequence.
âThe throw was unbelievable,â Roberts said. âThatâs a hard throw. Thatâs a hard play.â
At the plate, the Dodgers were in full factory mode, manufacturing nine runs on just four hits while walking seven times and going three for seven with runners in scoring position.
Miguel Rojas scored off a leadoff walk in the third, after avoiding a double-play at second base, stealing third and then getting a good jump on a wild pitch from Braves starter Max Fried to race home.
Tommy Edman and Rojas both scored in the fifth inning after hitting a double and single, respectively, to lead off the frame.
Then, the Dodgers hung a six-spot against Atlantaâs bullpen in the seventh, playing more small ball until Freddie Freeman broke things open with a three-run homer over the short wall down the left field line.
The win moved the Dodgers (89-61) four games clear of the second-place San Diego Padres (who had yet to finish their game Monday night) in the National League West, lowering their magic number to clinch the division crown to nine.
But more important, it offered another blueprint of how they could potentially win games in October, with a Yamamoto-led template almost certain to be required for the team to make a serious World Series run.
The Dodgers have many injuries to their pitching staff. Will this lead to Shohei Ohtani becoming a pitching hero in the playoffs?
âItâs a shot in the arm,â Roberts said of Yamamotoâs return to the club. âHe knows how valuable [he is] and what he means to our ballclub. And heâs delivered. So now these last two starts [he will make in the regular season], I feel good that weâve got a good foundation. Weâre almost there to the point where we can just let him go.â
Yamamoto is not without limitations.
He is still in build-up mode, limited to only 72 pitches Monday as he continues to regain stamina after his time on the IL.
He has also been extremely selective with his use of the slider â a pitch known to give him arm troubles during his time in Japanâs Nippon Professional Baseball league â throwing it only three times Monday while mixing in more cutters instead (though he said Monday that he wasnât intentionally shying away from it).
Before the game, Roberts also confirmed that Yamamoto will not pitch on regular four daysâ rest in any of his remaining regular season starts; continuing the trend of five days off or more between starts that he was accustomed to in Japan. It is unlikely that Yamamoto, who has not pitched on four daysâ rest all season, would do so in the playoffs, either.
âItâs kind of where weâre at,â Roberts said. âWeâve got to figure out how best to keep him fresh, sharp, prepared, number one. Then number two, fill in the pieces. Shoot, Iâd love to have four guys that can go on short rest or regular rest. But itâs just not feasible.â
Indeed, the Dodgersâ pitching staff is not in the place they hoped it would be at this point of the year.
Tyler Glasnowâs season is over because of a sprained elbow. Gavin Stone is almost certain to remain sidelined himself because of shoulder inflammation, though he still plans to try and start catch play again this week. Clayton Kershawâs status is also unclear as he continues to battle his toe injury.
But the Dodgers still have Jack Flaherty, their top trade deadline acquisition. Theyâre optimistic about Walker Buehler, a tested postseason pitcher who has looked better in recent weeks. And most of all, they have Yamamoto, who backed up his big return from injury with an equally auspicious, if not equally dominant, second act.
âTo muscle through four innings and get out of massive jams probably boosted his confidence, and ours,â Freeman said. âItâs a good end to the series and a big confidence boost for everyone in here.â
Austin Barnes on injured list
As expected, backup catcher Austin Barnes was placed on the injured list Monday after suffering a broken left big toe the previous night. Itâs the second time in the last two months that Barnes has suffered a fracture to the toe, but the Dodgers are hopeful he will be able to return before the end of the regular season.
Triple-A catcher Hunter Feduccia was called up in Barnesâ place Monday.
âI hope itâs one of those things, given his role, that if we can calm it down, keep it at bay we can get him back in 16 days,â Roberts said. âHopefully itâs not the end of the season for him.â
Sports
Texas QB Quinn Ewers âquestionableâ for game vs. ULM: Will Arch Manning get first start?
Texas starting quarterback Quinn Ewers is questionable for the Longhornsâ game this weekend against Louisiana-Monroe, coach Steve Sarkisian said on Monday.
Ewers, who suffered a strained oblique in the second quarter of the Longhornsâ 56-7 win over UTSA, left Saturdayâs game early in the second quarter and didnât return. Redshirt freshman Arch Manning relieved Ewers with four touchdown passes and a touchdown run and would make his first career start on Saturday if Ewers canât go.
Ewers had been playing some of the best football of his career before the injury. He has completed a career-high 73.4 percent of his passes this season, threw for 691 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions and averaged 8.7 yards per attempt in eight-plus quarters of action. Entering last weekend, Ewers was the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, per BetMGM.
Sarkisian said the injury was non-contact and Ewers felt pain as he threw a corner route for a 49-yard completion to Gunnar Helm. He tried to continue to play but had to come out of the game after the next snap.
âOn the release, he just feels it, you know?â Sarkisian said of the play on which Ewers was injured. âI think what he thought was it was just going to kind of go away, so he stayed in for one more play and then realized, âI probably need to get this looked at, this doesnât feel right.’â
If Ewers is unable to go, it will be the third consecutive season that he has missed a game with an injury. He missed three games in 2022 with a clavicle injury and missed two games last year with an AC joint sprain.
Sarkisian said theyâll monitor Ewers day-to-day and see how he feels. But based on how the quarterback handled his past two injuries, heâs confident that Ewers will effectively use any downtime he has and be ready once heâs cleared to return.
âHeâs always staying dialed in,â Sarkisian said. âHeâs also diligent with his recovery, and thatâs why when he comes back, he comes back and performs at a high level.â
Regarding Manningâs performance on Saturday (he finished 9 of 12 passing for 223 yards), Sarkisian said the young quarterback looked âpoised and composed.â Sarkisian said Manning made good decisions and was getting the ball to the right receivers when making his reads.
âThere were some learning curves in there, a couple things to learn from, but at the end of the day, I thought he played at a high level,â Sarkisian said.
Sarkisian said theyâll adjust how many practice reps Manning gets with the first team as they monitor Ewersâ status. True freshman Trey Owens, the Longhornsâ third-string quarterback who made his career debut against UTSA, will also see increased work this week. Owens would serve as the backup to Manning if Ewers is unable to go.
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(Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
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