As Texas football spends this week deciding if the injured Quinn Ewers can play against Mississippi State on Saturday, coach Steve Sarkisian said he'll lean on his history with Ewers to help him make the call.

"I think the beauty of it with Quinn and I is our time together, him having to come back from injuries previously," Sarkisian said Monday, "him knowing that him being honest with me is in his best interest and our best interest and things of that nature, that I'll do everything in my power to put him in the best position to be successful if he plays. And if he doesn't, OK, what does that look like moving forward?"

In determining if Ewers is ready, Sarkisian said the choice comes down to whether the third-year starter can execute the game plan, and whether he's healthy enough to "play at a high level."

He left Texas' Week 3 game against UTSA in the first half with an abdominal strain, opening the door for backup Arch Manning to start in a Week 4 victory over Louisiana-Monroe.

Ewers practiced Monday, Sarkisian said.

Wideout Johntay Cook said Ewers looked "amazing as always" at practice.

"Same as he always does," Texas center Jake Majors said. "I thought it was good to have him out there, but, regardless of who's in, this offense keeps going and we keep the momentum that we have."

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How the Longhorns are grading their pass rush

The Longhorns have come up with just seven team sacks through four weeks, and their edge rushers are only responsible for three of them.

Asked how he would grade Texas' pass rush so far, Barryn Sorrell said he thinks the Longhorns have been "very good."

"Just looking at the film, seeing the way we're affecting the quarterback," Sorrell said. "No quarterback is able to just sit back there on third down, and that's really our job."

True freshman Colin Simmons has two sacks to tie for the team lead and pace the Texas edge rushers. Colton Vasek, a redshirt freshman defensive end, is responsible for the only other sack among the group.

But Sorrell said Texas' defensive line doesn't define its success by the number in the sack column.

"Sacks are very important, but at the end of the day, you really just wanna affect the quarterback in any time of way," Sorrell said. "Especially in the defensive line room, we just preach hits, hurries and hands. Whether it's getting the ball out of the air... hitting them or pressuring them to get the ball out faster. All of those things are ways to affect the quarterback, and they all affect the game."

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Jaydon Blue handles increased workload for Texas football

Jaydon Blue, the Longhorns' running back, said he'd never carried the ball as many times in a single game as he did against ULM.

Blue added nine pounds to his frame over the offseason, bulking up to 200 pounds in preparation for workloads like the one he had Saturday, when he carried the ball 25 times for 124 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught a pass for an additional 3 yards and a touchdown.

This all came after sitting out Texas' Week 3 game against UTSA recovering from an ankle injury suffered against Michigan.

"(Running backs) Coach (Tashard) Choice does a good job of staying on me in practice to make sure that if I had to carry the ball 20-25 times that I have the durability to do it," Blue said. "It's just all with me preparing right and having a coach like Coach Choice to stay on me."

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: How Steve Sarkisian will decide if Texas football's Quinn Ewers can start