Quinn Ewers was cooking last season when Alabama football visited Texas in 2022. The Longhorn quarterback was a redshirt freshman at the time, but was 9-for-12 passing for 134 yards as the first quarter neared its end.

Then, a hit from the Crimson Tide’s Dallas Turner knocked him out of the game. Alabama escaped Austin with a 20-19 victory.

Now, Ewers is back at full strength and a year more experienced. He’s cut off his signature mullet and will lead Texas into Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

“He’s a really good player,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said Wednesday on the SEC’s weekly media teleconference. “Does a great job with their offense. He reads coverages well, he’s accurate with the ball, he’s got really good skill guys outside, they’ll take advantage of that.”

Ewers looked sharp in Texas’ opener against Rice. He threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns, completing 19 of his 30 throws.

The Longhorns won the game 37-10.

“It’s going to be a real challenge for us to affect him, number one,” Saban said. “But also do a good job of covering their guys.”

Texas has a solid room of wide receivers, including Georgia transfer Adonai Mitchell, who finished the Rice game with three catches for 26 yards and a touchdown. The team’s leading receiver against the Owls was Xavier Worthy, who caught seven passes for 90 yards.

When asked about Worthy, Saban had high praise.

“He’s a really good player, very fast,” Saban said. “Got really good hands, runs good routes, can drop his weight getting out of the breaks and they put him in some spots that they can take advantage of that and get him the ball. And he’s an outstanding player, probably one of the best receivers in the country.”

Alabama and Texas are scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be aired on ESPN.

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