Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers suffered an injury to his throwing shoulder during last week’s 31-24 win over Houston. Redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy came in to relieve Ewers, leaving many college football observers to wonder why Arch Manning wasn’t in the game instead.
Then, the announcement revealing Ewers would likely miss multiple weeks with his shoulder injury led to more questions about who the new Texas starting QB would be. Surprisingly, it will be Murphy getting the call during Saturday’s matchup with BYU instead of Manning, who was ranked No. 5 overall in ESPN’s recruiting rankings, compared to Murphy, who ranked 250th in 2022.
So where does that leave Manning, who’s in his freshman season at Texas?
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian recently admitted that he’s still undecided about whether Manning will see the field Saturday, although he does understand the value in getting the young QB some live game reps. He also said he has to ensure it’s “in the best interest of the team.”
The Athletic‘s Sam Khan Jr. provided a bit more clarity, suggesting Manning is likely to see at least a series or two against BYU. In an ideal world, it will come after the Longhorns have established a convincing lead, allowing Manning to play freely in the final quarter.
However, that is just speculation on Khan’s part, as he’s not a part of the Texas coaching staff. Whether we’ll get to see Manning make his first official passing attempt as a college football athlete this Saturday remains unknown, but with the matchup less than 24 hours away, we’ll have our answer soon enough.
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