Texas football entered the 2023 season with a national title in mind, considering they hold one of the most talented rosters in the country. One of those ultra-talented athletes was quarterback Quinn Ewers, who had a tremendous start to the season, leading Texas to a 5-0 start. Ewers has since gone down with an injury and will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks, according to multiple reports.

This leaves head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns in a very difficult scenario. They must continue to stack wins and collect conference victories because any loss will likely push them out of College Football Playoff contention. Sarkisian has skillful options to choose from in freshman Arch Manning and redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy.

Arch Manning vs. Maalik Murphy

Steve Sarkisian. Quinn Ewers with a first aid kit. Maalik Murphy and Arch Manning in Texas football uniforms.

Murphy has played real-game reps with the Longhorns, having been with the program for one more year, so this could be where Sarkisian finds more comfort. Manning was a highly touted recruit from the 2023 class, but throwing him into the fire this early could hurt the development that Texas' staff has worked through.

“I think one thing that quarterbacks early on in their career sometimes let the easy things be easy, right… There’s plenty of things that we do that are very quarterback friendly and allowing those things to be easy for a young quarterback is critical because there’s going to be plenty of tough plays that they’re going to have to make,” Sarkisian said, per Nick Kosko at On3.

Both players have incredible potential, but the Longhorns staff needs to play the right game here, in order to keep their room confident and healthy. Their next game against the BYU Cougars should come into play, whether they need a quarterback with certain skills to come out with the victory. With Murphy having already played live snaps, he may be the starter, but if that's not successful, Manning may come into the picture for Texas football earlier than expected.