Steve Sarkisian on state of Texas' backup quarterback battle: 'We'll find out'

Heading into this offseason, the Texas Longhorns had a strong inclination as to who their starting quarterback would be. Last year’s starter, Quinn Ewers, all but solidified his spot as a Longhorns QB1 during their spring ball.

But who would be QB No. 2 at Texas has remained a mystery. And according to Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, the answer to who will be Texas second-string signal caller will remain a mystery, at least until they take the field on Saturday against Rice.

Behind Ewers, Texas’ quarterback room also features true freshmen and top 2023 signee Arch Manning and redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy, who have been in a tight battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot. So it comes as no surprise when asked which of the two has distinguished themselves and captured the second-string quarterback spot, Sarkisian had this to say.

“We’ll find out,” said Sarkisian in Thursday’s media availability.

Longhorn fans should not be bummed out about this answer from their head coach. Should Ewers and the Longhorns offense dominate Rice on Saturday, which is the expectation, Texas could be in position to play both Manning and Murphy. But which quarterback will fans see more often this season will remain a mystery, at least for the foreseeable future.

That second-string quarterback spot is likely to see a good amount of action against Rice, according to Sarkisian. The Longhorns headman also revealed that the second-string units, offensively, defensively, and for special teams, are expected to have ample playing time on Saturday.

Saturday is supposed to be a hot one at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. And as a result, Sarkisian revealed that a lot of the Longhorns’ two-deep will play in the team’s opener.

“At a lot of the positions, we’re going to roll a pretty fair amount of our two-deep because we have to from a weather standpoint. It’s going to be in triple digits Saturday,” Sarkisian said according to On3’s Joe Cook.

Like Ewers, Manning was ranked the No. 1 quarterback in this year’s 2023 recruiting cycle according to On3’s Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. And as the grandson of Archie Manning and the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, there’s no doubt that the expectations are high for the true freshman who’s already impressed during the Longhorns’ fall camp.

But despite all the hype surrounding Manning, Murphy has created his own buzz for his generational size and potential at the position. Towering at 6-foot-5, 238 pounds, Murphy is oozing with potential at the quarterback position as he enters his second season with the Longhorns.

On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this article