Murphy or Manning? Steve Sarkisian keeping who his backup quarterback is close to the vest
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was relieved he didn’t have to face questions about a competition for the Longhorns’ starting quarterback role throughout the preseason. After all, he named Quinn Ewers as QB1 in the aftermath of the Orange-White Game in April.
[Join Inside Texas today and get 50% off an annual subscription!]
The quarterback questions didn’t cease, however. With the roster having both Maalik Murphy, a highly-touted 6-foot-5, 238-pounder with a cannon arm and impressive frame, and Arch Manning, the next generation of signal-caller from the Manning family and the 2023 On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 1 overall prospect, the battle for the backup quarterback role became an intriguing storyline emanating from the position Sarkisian calls the most important in sports.
On Monday, Sarkisian was asked about who would be the backup on the yet-to-be-publicly-released depth chart.
“Who do we feel like come Thursday is the guy that earned that opportunity to be the backup this week, that’ll be who the backup is,” Sarkisian replied.
The question came again on Thursday. His response?
“We’ll find out,” he said.
Last season, Texas released a public depth chart on the morning of the first game versus Louisiana-Monroe. That’s likely to be the case this year, and there’s a chance the quarterback position has the “OR” designation without a clear cut No. 2.
QB2 will become evident, theoretically, in pregame warmups. In the hour before kickoff, the quarterbacks practice taking snaps under center. Who is by Ewers’ side with the second-string center will reveal a bit more than what a piece of paper may say.
It will also become apparent should Texas build a wide enough margin over the Owls to play backups, but much of that is dependent on how Ewers performs within the offense.
“Quinn is going to roll,” Sarkisian said. “Quinn is going to play. Hope he plays great. If an opportunity presents itself, we’ll try to get those guys in.”
Muprhy, a product of Inglewood (Calif.) Serra, did not play in 2022 while recovering from an ankle injury suffered during the state championship game in his senior season. Upon his return to full health and Hudson Card‘s transfer after the regular season, Murphy became the backup quarterback for the Longhorns ahead of Texas’ appearance in the Alamo Bowl.
Murphy was ranked as the No. 205 overall prospect, the No. 12 quarterback, and the No. 15 player in California in the 2022 On3 Industry Ranking.
Manning, the son of Cooper, nephew of Peyton and Eli, and grandson of Archie, arrived at Texas in January. He chose the Longhorns over Alabama and Georgia, and was the subject of one of a handful of recruitments that crossed over from the recruiting news industry into national mainstream sports coverage. A talented passer out of New Orleans (La.) Isidore Newman, Manning broke many of the records his uncles Peyton and Eli set for the Greenies.
Both competed throughout the 2023 calendar year, with Murphy going second and Arch third during the open media viewing portions of both spring and preseason practices. But a backup has yet to be publicly revealed
No matter who goes under center after Ewers’ day potentially is done, it’ll be the first competitive snap at Darrel K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium for either Murphy or Manning.
And it will reveal some amount of information about Sarkisian’s quarterback room.
The post Murphy or Manning? Steve Sarkisian keeping who his backup quarterback is close to the vest appeared first on On3.
