SAN ANTONIO – Days after stepping in for an injured Quinn Ewers in the second quarter of No. 1 Texas’ decisive win over UTSA, redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning was named the Longhorns’ Week 4 starter.
Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian announced his decision to start the top prospect in the Class of 2023 during media availability on Thursday.
“Arch [Manning] is more than capable,” Sarkisian said. “I think, as we all know, he’s got a lot of confidence and trust from his teammates. He got in a really good week of work, understands the plan, but it’s different when you’re the starting quarterback as opposed to coming in cold off the bench as the backup quarterback.
“It’s a different challenge for him, but I know that he’ll be more than ready to go out and operate and play football at a high level for us.”
Saturday’s game at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium will mark Manning’s first collegiate start.
However, Manning already has the college football world on his side — not only because he’s a Manning — but the 6-foot-4, 225-pound quarterback looked like a seasoned veteran last week in a five-touchdown performance.
Sarkisian said the way he and his coaching staff prepare their quarterbacks is why he’s confident Manning is ready for bigger moments.
“We coach our quarterbacks really hard,” Sarkisian said. “But that’s intentional. We try to put as much stress and as much pressure on them on a daily basis on the football field.”
In the meantime, Ewers will continue rehab on the oblique injury he suffered last week against the Roadrunners.
“I feel like Quinn [Ewers] has made great strides ever since Saturday night and where he’s gotten to, but my decision is that I’m looking forward to his future as a player, but also the future of the season for us and the longevity in getting him possibly one more week healthier for the long term,” Sarkisian said.
Sarkisian was asked how Ewers is handling the emotional toll of sustaining an injury so early in the college football season.
“We have a national champion-caliber team, and he’s the quarterback of that team,” Sarkisian said. “We still have that in front of us to go do that. I think with some of the games that we have coming up down the road — [he’s] going to be in New York for the Heisman whether he wins it or not — he has the ability to do that. And I think he has the ability to be a top-five NFL Draft pick. All of the things that I think he’s capable of are still out there for him.”
The Longhorns open their SEC schedule on Sept. 28 at home against Mississippi State. It is unclear whether or not Ewers will be back in time for that contest.
Top-ranked Texas will face Louisiana-Monroe at 7 p.m. Saturday in Austin.
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