Steve Sarkisian addresses Maalik Murphy's progression ahead of second start

Maalik Murphy wasn’t perfect during the first start of his career this past weekend against BYU. Though, the final score wouldn’t tell you that.

Texas ultimately defeated the Cougars 35-6, but the 6-foot-5, 238-point redshirt freshman quarterback’s comfortability has been called into question after a rough start to the outing. Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian believes Murphy is learning from his mistakes heading into a higher-stakes matchup this weekend.

“I don’t want to say he’s quite 100 percent comfortable yet,” Sarkisian said of Murphy on Thursday. “If anything, he’s going into start No. 2. I think there’s reduced anxiety in that he knows what to expect day in and day out. I think he understands how gameday goes as the starter and that feeling of taking the field. Some of those things may cloud your focus of day to day. I think he understands what that is and it allows him to live in the moment.”

Murphy began Saturday’s matchup against BYU completing 7-for-11 passes for 52 yards with an interception and a fumble. After that turnover, he finished 9-for-14 for 118 yards while throwing for the first two touchdowns of his career.

The game’s timeline is a perfect example of how Sarkisian expects Murphy’s confidence to grow heading into his second start. While it was shaky at first, all it took were a couple of adjustments for Murphy to get some wind beneath his wings. Then it was off to the races for the former four-star recruit.

With an entire week to improve based on his film, his in-game adjustment has surely been emphasized in practice as Sarkisian gets to know Murphy’s style more with experience. The same can be said about Murphy’s teammates as well.

“There’s a level of comfort for us and the players around him of ‘okay, this is Maalik on gameday. This is his personality. This is Maalik in game prep when he’s running a play for the first time and his understanding of it all,'” Sarkisian continued. “I think all the way around, it feels a little bit more comfortable for me and the people all around.”

While Murphy finished strong against the Cougars, he’s tasked with leading the Longhorns past the reigning Big 12 champions, No. 23 Kansas State at home. Heading into the weekend, Texas is a 14.5-point favorite against the Wildcats, per Vegas Insider. The over/under total is set at 49.5 points.