Steve Sarkisian Reveals Why Texas Longhorns Freshman QB Arch Manning Didn't Play vs. BYU Cougars
On Saturday, the No. 7 Texas Longhorns welcomed new Big 12 member BYU to Austin for their Week 9 matchup.
The biggest storyline coming into the game was the quarterback situation, as the Longhorns are without their starting signal caller Quinn Ewers. Head coach Steve Sarkisian made it fairly clear that it would be redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy getting the nod, but there were indications that the Longhorns would get five-star freshman Arch Manning into the game.
The nephew of Peyton and Eli has yet to take the field at the college level but was one of the most sought-after players in the country ranking as the No. 1 overall player. With Texas favored by as many as 20.5 points against the Cougars and building a lead as big as 24 points, fans were clamoring for Manning to make his debut. Something that Sarkisian decided against, explaining he didn't think it was the right time.
"I'm always hesitant on those things to say 'yes, he's going to go in' because now I'm going to get called a liar and that I didn't put them in," said Sarkisian "I just felt like it wasn't the right time today. Hopefully, in the future, we can do it."
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian
Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
He also explained that the focus on Saturday wasn't predicated on getting Manning in, but more so on getting Murphy reps.
"I was more focused on the rhythm of Maalik and the offense. It wasn't the right time today."
Texas went on to win by a score of 35-6, with Murphy throwing for 170 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing a pick and fumbling the ball once. It appeared to be a good welcome-to-college moment for Murphy, who could be in line to start against a hot Kansas State team next weekend.
As for Manning, there hasn't seemed to be a "right time" for him to play, with each week going by making it seem more and more unlikely that we see him this year. It is something to look out for, as Sarkisian keeps mentioning getting him in at the right moment, but we really haven't seen what that means.
