The backup quarterback is just one play away from taking the field as the old saying goes. For Steve Sarkisian at Texas, that play has happened in every one of his three seasons as head coach of the Longhorns.
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Starting quarterback Quinn Ewers missed time in 2022 and 2023 due to injuries serious enough to sideline him for multiple games. In 2022, Hudson Card stepped in and went 2-1 as the starter in the contests Ewers missed. 2023 saw Maalik Murphy step in and win two games in Ewers’ stead. In both instances, Ewers returned to the starting role and posted a record of 9-4 in the games after his returns.
Circumstances were different in 2021, Sarkisian’s first year, when Card won the starting quarterback role out of camp but was replaced in the early stages of the season by Casey Thompson. Injury and lack of effectiveness caused Thompson and Card to rotate as starter, but that was a case of Sarkisian being forced to play QB2 in a situation he would preferred not to have done so.
Ahead of 2024, Sarkisian is planning for the best-case scenario that Ewers starts every game the Longhorns play in their first season in the Southeastern Conference. But he also made sure to prepare for adversity and ensure that back-up Arch Manning and third-stringer Trey Owens saw extensive reps during the spring should they be needed this season.
“I think that’s the reason we played them the way that we did in the spring game,” Sarkisian said at SEC Spring Meetings in Destin. “That’s why before the spring game, I met with Quinn and he knew how that was going to go. I needed Arch to get extensive playing time. I needed Trey Owens to get extensive playing time.”
For Manning, that’s in contrast to last year during the spring. Ewers was the starter as he is this year, but Murphy took the lion’s share of the second-string reps. Manning was cheered loudly for his brief appearance in last year’s spring game, and his short opportunities against Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. But those were limited because of his place on the depth chart.
With his status as the backup, and with Owens also needing seasoning ahead of potential chances, Sarkisian took a different approach.
“I know who Quinn Ewers is,” Sarkisian said. “I needed to get those guys exposed in the spring game.”
Manning was 19-for-25 for 355 yards and three touchdowns with one interception occurring on the final play of the game. Owens was 14-for-21 for 228 yards and three touchdowns of his own. Sarkisian would like for those strong outings from Manning and Owens to be precursors for opportunities in non-conference play to stand in for Ewers once the Longhorns have tilted the scoreboard in their favor.
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Those chances, at least in Manning’s case, would be in preparation for succeeding Ewers in 2025 or stepping in for Texas’ QB1 in 2024 should Ewers find himself yet again on the sidelines due to injury. It’s reps Sarkisian believes his quarterbacks need in order to have a great chance at future success.
“Hopefully, we can find some opportunities early in the season where we can get Arch some valuable experience, and even Trey for that matter, just to get them comfortable playing,” Sarkisian said.
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