Steve Sarkisian reveals how to balance Texas QB room with Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning

Texas landed the biggest fish of the 2023 recruiting cycle with quarterback Arch Manning to add to a room with Quinn Ewers. Head coach Steve Sarkisian the more the merrier, but knows quarterback talent is most important, based on his previous experience.

Ewers is the Longhorns’ starter, with Maalik Murphy and Manning serving as backups. Manning will develop, as he’s expected to take over next year, at least on paper.

Sarkisian revealed how he balanced so much talent this offseason within the Texas quarterback room.

“Well, I think the first thing is getting them to understand that everybody’s at a different phase in their development, right,” Sarkisian said Monday on The Herd. “Whether you’re talking about Quinn Ewers, Maalik Murphy, Arch Manning, all these guys are in a different phase. And what they need to do a really good job of is not get caught up in what the other guy’s working on in his development, but focus on what we’re asking them to work on in their development.”

Sarkisian mentioned cohesion between all three signal callers was key. For instance, it seems like no one mentions Murphy on the quarterback pecking order, but he is a former four-star quarterback with talent to his name.

“And then to be a great teammate,” Sarkisian said of what’s needed. “You know, I’ve been part of some really good quarterback rooms over the years. You know, back in the day at USC I had Carson Palmer, Matt Cassell and Matt Leinart in the same room.

“I was in a quarterback room with John David-Booty and Mark Sanchez in the same room. I was in the quarterback room at Alabama with Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones in the same room. So this isn’t foreign territory for me.”

Sarkisian made sure to mention Ewers, Manning and even Murphy need balance and for each to focus on their individual development. How the pecking order works itself out currently and in the future is on the staff.

“I think like I said, the key is to focus on what each individual needs to work on to be the best player he can be,” Sarkisian said. “And then be a great teammate for the other guys and we’ve got a really cool camaraderie amongst this group of guys right now and looking forward to watching them all play here in a couple days.”

Ewers is the guy right now and at full strength, could be one of the best quarterbacks in the country. That’s not to mention the talent behind Ewers in Manning and Murphy.