Steve Sarkisian identifies Arch Manning backups on Texas' QB depth chart

Quinn Ewers will not start for Texas on Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe due to an injury. In fact, he will not even be available to play as Steve Sarkisian plans to have him completely unavailable. Arch Manning will lead the Longhorns onto the field with two guys ready on the sideline in case they are called upon.

“Cole Lourd will be the third quarterback,” Sarkisian said. “Trey (Owens) being the backup quarterback.”

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Owens is a true freshman and played high school football at Cypress (TX) Cy-Fair, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 274 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

To this point of the season, most reps Owens has taken during practice have been with the scout team. He has been listed as the third-string on the depth chart but acted as opposing quarterbacks for Texas during game prep. This week has been completely new for him too.

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Sarkisian has been impressed with Owens in the elevated role heading into Louisiana-Monroe. As Manning was a week ago, Owens is now one play away from being out there for Texas.

“Trey had a good week. It’s different when you’re doing a lot of scout team work and then you’re trying to know the offense for a couple reps here and there. It’s different than when you spend all week with us and you’re running the gameplan plays. I thought he’s really come along all week, he had a very good practice [Thursday] so feel good about that.”

Moving down to the third string, Lourd is another player Sarkisian boasts a lot of confidence in, dating back to the spring game. He is more experienced in the system than Owens, entering his fourth year in the program.

“Cole, one of his best attributes is that he knows our offense inside and out,” Sarkisian said. “He’s been with us now for quite some time. Every time we put him in there, he plays well. He played well in the spring game. We feel good about him as well.”

Texas is hoping neither Owens nor Lourd have to enter the game due to injuries. However, if the game is decided early in the second half, Sarkisian might be quick to pull Manning out and get the other two game reps — potentially the biggest opportunities of their career thus far.