Texas Football: Why Longhorns Need to Go All-In with David Ash at QB

The Texas Longhorns have finally made a decision at their quarterback battle by naming David Ash as their starter over Case McCoy.

With the poor results from last year where the quarterbacks were swapped left and right, the team needs to take a firm stand and back their starter. Last year, the quarterback rotation caused Garrett Gilbert to transfer before the season even ended.

The battle between Ash and McCoy had been going on since the spring, and now that a decision has been made, Texas should stick with their choice of Ash.

Last year, even when Texas was beating teams such as Rice, Iowa State, BYU and UCLA ,they were still using at least two quarterbacks, and they played three quarterbacks in wins over Rice and BYU. 

In all but two games last year did Texas not rotate a quarterback, and in those games they went 1-1 with a loss to Oklahoma State and a win over Cal in the Holiday Bowl.

Both had Ash getting the start. 

Even when one of the Texas quarterbacks had significant playing time, they probably were not fully comfortable on the field knowing they more than likely would be pulled at some point.

Everyone has heard the saying that having two quarterbacks really means having no quarterbacks, and if Texas wants to live up to their preseason rankings, they need to stick with one guy.

A quarterback is never at their best when looking over their shoulder, and being afraid that if they make a mistake they will be pulled is not a good way to build trust in their quarterback. Texas needs to stop that nonsense and stick to one guy and let him ride through the bumps.

A good thing for Texas is that their first first two opponents are very winnable games—they face off against a pair of Mountain West teams in Wyoming and New Mexico.

Those two games should allow Ash to build up some much needed confidence heading into their game against Ole Miss, another winnable game, which proceeds a tough three-game stretch against Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Oklahoma—who are all currently ranked.

If Texas can stick with Ash as their quarterback and not have the desire to pull him out after a bad series, then it is possible that Texas can live up to their preseason rankings and make some noise in the Big 12 race.