Texas coach Steve Sarkisian officially named quarterback Maalik Murphy the starter for Saturday’s game against BYU in place of Quinn Ewers, who is out with an injury.
“Today was Maalik’s best day of practice since he’s been at Texas,” Sarkisian said on Thursday of the redshirt freshman who will be making his first collegiate start.
Last week, Murphy stepped in for Ewers after he sprained his throwing shoulder against Houston. Murphy attempted two passes, completing one, while leading the Longhorns on what would ultimately be the game-winning drive.
Murphy has appeared in four games this season, completing 4 of 8 passes for 47 yards. He was recovering from an ankle injury during his freshman season, and most fans only got their first glimpse of him in the spring game where he went 9 of 13 passing for 165 yards and a touchdown. Sarkisian raved about his arm talent and repeated this week that “there’s not a throw he can’t make.”
Sarkisian said on Monday that freshman Arch Manning, who has not appeared in a game yet this season, would also get first-team practice reps this week. But he said on Thursday he’s not sure if the superstar recruit, who was No. 5 in the 2023 ESPN 300, will play just to get his feet wet.
“I haven’t made a decision if I’m going to get Arch in there just to get him in there,” Sarkisian said. “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 that’s in the best interest of the team.”
The 6-5, 238-pound Murphy, was a four-star recruit from Gardena, Calif. ranked No. 250 in the 2022 ESPN 300, who opted not to transfer after the Longhorns landed Ewers, a transfer from Ohio State, and Manning since he committed to Texas. Now he’s in line to get his shot at the job.
“There’s going to be some excitement in his bones,” Sarkisian said. “Let’s make sure we play well around him.”