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The Texas football team is just days away from kicking off its 2023 season, yet it's still unknown if Arch Manning or Maalik Murphy will be the No. 2 quarterback. After the Longhorns' spring game, Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian ended any notion that Arch Manning would beat out Quinn Ewers for the starting quarterback job. Nearly five months later, the top recruit in the 2022 class could potentially be relegated to the No. 3 quarterback spot.
“Maalik and Arch, right now, they're both doing well,” Sarkisian said during his first in-season weekly news conference, via 247Sports. “Who do we feel like come Thursday is the guy that kind of earned that opportunity to be the backup this week? That'll be who the backup is.”
There's a good chance that Ewers' backup will see the field in the 2023 Texas football opener. The Longhorns are favored by five touchdowns over Rice in Saturday afternoon's matchup. If all goes as planned and Texas rolls to a big lead, it would make sense for either Manning or Murphy to get some playing time in the second half.
Texas blew out UL Monroe 52-10 in last year's season opener. Backup quarterback Hudson Card saw time under center when the game was clearly in hand. Look for Manning or Murphy to attempt their first college pass Saturday.
“That competition is rolling along,” Sarkisian said, “Maalik has done some great things for us, too. I love it because I think that room, in general, is playing at a higher level than it was in spring — no question — and a higher level than it was a year ago at this time.”
Barring an injury, Manning and Murphy should spend most of the season on the bench. Ewers is expected to be a Heisman Trophy contender.
