David Ash; Where To Go From Here

The junior quarterback from Belton began the season in promising fashion. Statistically, few Longhorn quarterbacks have reached the kind of production David Ash delivered in the three games he started. Despite a loss to BYU in the second game of the season, a loss chalked up to porous defense, Ash completed over 60 percent of his passes, threw for seven touchdowns, and had a quarterback rating of 156.3. To put this in perspective, Longhorn fans hadn’t seen that kind of production since Colt McCoy’s Heisman-worthy junior season (even McCoy’s senior season had a lower QB rating than Ash’s 156.3).[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]

It will be six weeks this Saturday since Ash last took a snap behind center. Despite what began as a promising season, Ash’s extended absence combined with Case McCoy’s steady play has produced mounds of questions concerning the quarterback’s future, both immediate and long term.

The good news, Ash appears to be improving following a concussion he sustained in the second week of the season.

“David is not having any symptoms,” head coach Mack Brown said, which should provide fans with a great amount of relief considering the seriousness and unpredictability of head injuries. “But at the same time they will not let him be at practice yet, and they will not let him practice until maybe next week.”

With Ash out this weekend and unable to practice at least until next week, one must wonder what this means for Ash moving forward. Even if Ash is cleared to play, which is far from a guarantee, the team could be reluctant to insert him following their recent success behind senior QB McCoy.

“What we’re seeing is that (Ash) hasn’t done anything in four weeks, he lost 10 pounds and he’s not in football playing shape,” Brown said. “Even when he gets released we’re not sure he’ll be ready to play. They will release him to practice, but they will not release him to play. And with the quarterback, it’s hard to see when you let him back in because you’re not going to hit him, you’re in practice.”

Reading between the lines, it’s difficult to imagine a return this season for the promising young quarterback. However, the silver lining in all of this is the fact that Ash could qualify for a medical redshirt (aka, a hardship waiver).

A medical redshirt is essentially a scratched year for a player, a year that never happened. If a player started a season as a junior, was injured during the second weekend and never returned to the field, that player can begin next season as a junior again, provided he appeared in less than 30 percent of the games and played in zero games past the season’s midway point. This is the situation Ash finds himself in.

Ash’s last start against Kansas State gave the QB three starts on the season. If he fails to get clearance to play in another game this season that would mean Ash could qualify for a medical redshirt. However, this means the QB cannot be cleared to play.

“(Ash) can apply for a medical (redshirt) until he is cleared to play,” Brown said. “He can return to practice, but until he’s released to play in ball games, he still qualifies for a medical redshirt.”

In other words, Ash cannot even dress for a game if he decides to pursue a medical redshirt.

For the most part, a medical redshirt makes sense. This is McCoy’s senior season, so a looming dual between the two quarterbacks is a moot point, and giving the now-mature Ash the opportunity to lead this team another two years cannot be seen as a bad thing. However, one monkey wrench that could be thrown into the mix is the progress of freshman quarterback, and fan favorite, Tyrone Swoopes.

After playing in the fourth quarter of Texas’ route over TCU, Brown burned the promising quarterback’s redshirt. Thus, Swoopes will begin next season a sophomore and will have three years of eligibility remaining. If Ash redshirts this season, he will return next season a junior and will have two years of eligibility remaining. This means Swoopes is unlikely to see significant playing time until his senior season.

Of course, this is a silly prognostication from a guy with too much time on his hands. All coaches are concerned with is Ash’s health, and what they can do to give their young quarterback every opportunity to succeed. If this means granting him another year of eligibility, so be it. Ash deserves it.

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