Before diving into that Thanksgiving feast, let’s be thankful for another entertaining season across the Lone Star State. From Texas and Alabama’s Week 2 showdown to Houston and SMU’s 140-point scorefest to TCU’s thrilling last-second win over Baylor, there has been some fun football.

With the regular season nearing its close, let’s get to your questions in the latest edition of Ask the Texpert.

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(Note: Submitted questions have been lightly edited for length and clarity.)

Am I the only one who thinks Quinn Ewers is overrated? Maybe he is still feeling the effects of the injury from the Alabama game, but his footwork is bad and he is very nonchalant when he throws a short pass. He frequently throws high on longer passes. Steve Sarkisian sticks with him but he wasn’t signed to be a game managing quarterback.

John W., Katy, Texas

Does Ewers need to improve? Of course. Even he admitted before Texas’ Week 12 win over Kansas that he had “gotten too lazy” with his footwork, which also impacts a quarterback’s accuracy. But I’m not nearly ready to proclaim him overrated yet just because he’s had a rough four-game stretch.

Max Olson and I discussed Ewers’ struggles last week on our podcast, and we agreed he needs time and patience (and some help from Sarkisian in how games are called). I think the immediate success we have seen in recent years from quarterbacks like Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa or Bryce Young influences us as college football fans and media to expect similar results from all five-star quarterback recruits. If they don’t achieve similar success swiftly, people are quick to jump off the bandwagon.

It’s understandable why these expectations get so lofty. When covering players as high school recruits, immense praise and unrealistic expectations are heaped upon them. I’m guilty of it, too, citing Ewers’ No. 1 overall prospect ranking and substantial arm talent in this space plenty of times. But I think there should be room for players to struggle and develop without being expected to be a finished product in Year 1 as a starter. They aren’t all going to be Heisman Trophy candidates right away. Not everyone’s trajectory is a straight upward line. The road can often be bumpy.

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Here’s a look at the top-ranked quarterbacks in each recruiting class the six cycles before Ewers, according to the 247Sports Composite:

2020: DJ Uiagalelei (pro-style), Bryce Young (dual-threat)
2019: Spencer Rattler (pro), Bo Nix (dual)
2018: Trevor Lawrence (pro), Justin Fields (dual)
2017: Davis Mills (pro), Tua Tagovailoa (dual)
2016: Shea Patterson (pro), Jarrett Guarantano (dual)
2015: Josh Rosen (pro), Kyler Murray (dual)

Half of the quarterbacks on that list transferred out of the schools they originally signed with. Murray started three games his freshman season at Texas A&M, looking terrific in the first one and pedestrian in the others, but after some time and seasoning at Oklahoma, he became a Heisman Trophy winner and a No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Nix went through plenty of ups and downs at Auburn but has been terrific at Oregon this year. Uiagalelei had a rough sophomore year but seems to have found his footing as a junior at Clemson.

I mention all that as a reminder that Ewers is just eight games into his college career. It’s totally fair and understandable to compare him to Lawrence or Young at a similar stage because Ewers’ recruiting rating — a perfect 1.000, per 247 — built up that expectation. The criticism of his play is justifiable, particularly from an accuracy standpoint. When I previewed Texas-TCU earlier this month, a coordinator told me that Ewers’ deep ball accuracy is lacking.

But there’s also nothing wrong with a little patience. Let’s see how he looks in his final two starts this season and how big of a step forward he takes in 2023.

Lastly, let’s look at how his season has unfolded. In his first four starts, he completed 67.7 percent of his passes, averaged 8.8 yards per attempt and threw nine touchdowns to just two interceptions. He attempted 23 passes per game, a number brought down by his injury-shortened outing against Alabama, but he attempted more than 30 passes only once.

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In the last four games, he has completed 47.1 percent of his throws, averaged 5.6 yards per attempt and has five touchdowns to four interceptions. But he’s averaging 35 pass attempts in that stretch and has attempted more than 30 passes in three of those games. His two highest pass attempt totals came in losses to Oklahoma State (49 attempts) and TCU (39 attempts), both games in which the Longhorns got away from the run game more than they should have.

That’s where Sarkisian can help Ewers.

What are you hearing about how the players at Texas A&M are feeling right now? There are bound to be transfers, but should we expect a mass exodus or something less crippling? Also, how desirable do you think A&M will be as a transfer destination at positions of need?

Zachary B.

Obviously, there’s a lot of frustration in Aggieland. Sitting at 4-7 amid a season that includes a six-game losing streak is a disaster considering Texas A&M’s preseason No. 6 ranking. On Monday, guard Layden Robinson called it “a disappointment,” mentioning how the team has been impacted negatively by its on-field struggles and off-field issues.

Roster attrition happens everywhere, every year, and Texas A&M will be no different. It’s just a matter of which and how many players leave. Given how poorly the season has gone, my gut feeling is there will be more attrition than what is typical. The Aggies know how critical the next few weeks will be. Keeping the current roster as intact as possible is probably a higher priority than even closing out the 2023 recruiting class, which currently has 11 commitments and ranks 24th nationally, per the 247Sports Composite.

Jimbo Fisher is optimistic about being able to keep the core of the team together, but the moves he makes after the season is over could impact both how much of the roster he retains and how attractive the Aggies are to others in the portal. To entice talented offensive players, Fisher’s going to have to prove he’s willing to make significant changes to what has been a subpar offense this season.

The portal officially opens Dec. 5 for FBS players who are not graduate transfers, a result of the newly passed rule that establishes two transfer portal “windows” (one after the season and one in the spring). The activity coming from A&M will be among the most watched in the country.

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Who are the best offensive and defensive coordinators in the state? Are any likely to be tapped for head coaching jobs in the near future?

Andrew S.

Offensively, Baylor’s Jeff Grimes, TCU’s Garrett Riley and Texas Tech’s Zach Kittley are the names I would consider in the top group of coordinators. Grimes has turned Baylor into one of the best rushing offenses in the country. The Bears ranked 10th in the FBS last season and are 21st this year. His offenses are fun to watch because of how well they execute and how much misdirection they throw at opposing defenses.

Grimes getting wicked with the run scheme!

— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) November 21, 2022

Riley’s performance this year speaks for itself. He has tutored TCU quarterback Max Duggan into a Heisman Trophy candidate and has done a terrific job deploying the vast amount of skill position talent the Horned Frogs have to make them an explosive offense.

Kittley, who quickly rose to stardom while coaching Bailey Zappe at Houston Baptist (now Houston Christian) and Western Kentucky, has done a solid job managing a Red Raider offense that has endured a lot of turnover at quarterback. All three Texas Tech quarterbacks suffered injuries at various points this season, but Kittley has done a good job developing all of them and keeping the offense productive.

Of that group, Grimes seems the readiest and most likely to get a head coaching job. He has coached at multiple levels and in multiple conferences across the country in his 30 years coaching.

Defensively, Pete Kwiatkowski at Texas has done a terrific job with his unit this year. The Longhorns allowed 6 yards per play in 2021 but have improved that by a full yard, allowing only 5 yards per play this season, second in the Big 12. Watching them, you can see how much more disciplined and sound they are and they play fast.

I also like the job Joe Gillespie has done in his first year at TCU. Adapting from Gary Patterson’s 4-2-5 to Gillespie’s 3-3-5 wasn’t easy, but the Horned Frogs have transitioned nicely and have played hard and tackled well. I’ve been particularly impressed by their open-field tackling all season.

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Tim DeRuyter at Texas Tech is a seasoned veteran whose unit has had some ups and downs in his first year there but has played well in recent weeks.

The state’s Group of 5 ranks also have some talented coordinators. Texas State defensive coordinator Zac Spavital got his group to improve 53 spots nationally this season in both scoring and yards per play.

North Texas offensive coordinator Mike Bloesch, who also became the Mean Green’s quarterbacks coach this season, has helped Austin Aune become one of the most improved players in the state. Aune had just nine touchdown passes last season but has 29 this season, ranking in the top 10 in the FBS, and he also improved his completion percentage (51.2 percent to 57.6) and yards per attempt (6.7 to 9.1) this year.

UTSA offensive coordinator Will Stein and defensive coordinator Jess Loepp have both been solid this year, helping the Roadrunners to a 9-2 record and a return trip to the Conference USA championship game. Both coaches have had to endure injuries to key players throughout the year but have managed things really well.

Lastly, a name missing on this list that would have topped it a year ago is Houston defensive coordinator Doug Belk. The Cougars had one of the best defenses under his watch in 2021 but have been one of the worst this year, ranking in the 100s nationally in scoring and yards per play. Losing their best defensive player, defensive end Derek Parish, to injury early this season certainly hurt. Belk is well-regarded by his peers and still has a bright future. I’ll be curious to see how his defense bounces back in 2023 when Houston enters the Big 12.

Looking at the Group of 5 schools, what do you see happening with Rice and UTEP? Both enter the weekend with five wins but with Rice playing North Texas and UTEP playing UTSA, it looks like neither has much of a chance of getting bowl eligible. Both Mike Bloomgren and Dana Dimel are in Year 5 at their schools and both schools are hard to win at. Do you see either school making a change or do you think they give Bloomgren and Dimel more time?

John R.

When these teams played earlier this month, a thrilling 37-30 win for Rice, it had a bit of a must-win feel to it for both teams, and I could sense that in speaking with the coaching staffs. Both knew winning that game would be critical to their bowl eligibility efforts.

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If both fall short of a bowl, Rice seems more likely to make a change than UTEP because the Miners gave Dimel a contract extension earlier this year after last year’s 7-6 season, which was the school’s first bowl appearance since 2014. Bloomgren is in his fifth year at Rice, and the Owls have yet to make the postseason. Plus, Rice is moving to the American Athletic Conference next year, where the competition will stiffen, so there’s an additional sense of urgency there.

Both schools face steep challenges based on where they sit in the college football landscape. Neither spends the type of cash that some of the other in-state G5 programs do, but their fans still want to win. Bloomgren is 16-37 at Rice and Dimel is 17-39 at UTEP, so fans’ frustrations are certainly understandable.

Lone Star 12 rankings

(Photo: Ed Zurga / Getty Images)