Texas Makes Decision On Arch Manning, Maalik Murphy QB Battle

The Texas Longhorns will start redshirt freshman quarterback Maalik Murphy over true freshman Arch Manning in the absence of starter Quinn Ewers in Saturday's (October 28) game against BYU, head coach Steve Sarkisian announced during his press conference Thursday (October 26).

Murphy will make his first career start, having previously appeared in four games behind Ewers, which included taking over in his absence in the fourth quarter of last Saturday's (October 21) 31-24 win against Houston amid the redshirt sophomore's shoulder injury. Manning, the son of Cooper Manning, nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning and grandson of Archie Manning, is on pace to redshirt, having not yet appeared in a game during his first collegiate season.

Sarkisian addressed reports that he was considering playing both quarterbacks in Ewers' absence after naming Murphy as the team's starter.

“Maalik’s going to start the game and go play in this game,” Sarkisian said. “I haven’t made a decision if I want to get Arch in there just to get him in there or not. We have discussed that some because I do think there’s some valuable experience for him in that. But, I have to make sure that’s in the best interest of the team.”

Murphy signed with Texas as the No. 12 quarterback, No. 13 player from the state of California and the No. 179 prospect for the 2022 national recruiting cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite. The Inglewood native has thrown for 47 yards on 4 of 8 passing in limited action.

Manning entered his collegiate career as the No. 1 prospect for the 2023 national recruiting cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. The 18-year-old's collegiate career at Texas will continue his family's strong ties to the SEC with the Longhorns set to join the conference in 2024 during his sophomore season.

Archie, Cooper and Eli Manning all attended Ole Miss while Peyton Manning spent four years at Tennessee.