When the Texas Longhorns’ offense takes the field Saturday afternoon inside Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium against the BYU Cougars, Maalik Murphy will be the starting quarterback.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian officially tabbed Murphy the starter on Thursday, per On3 Sports, with Quinn Ewers week-to-week with a shoulder injury.
“I would say today was Maalik’s best practice since he’s been here,” Sarkisian told media on his weekly Zoom call. “That’s a good thing for us that as the week has gone on, his game has elevated, his understanding of the game plan has elevated, his comfort level managing all the things we do with the line of scrimmage has elevated, and I think his confidence is elevated because of it. He had a really good practice today.”
Ewers had started every game for Texas this season, prior to his injury, throwing for 1,915 yards, 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions (he has also rushed for five touchdowns).
Murphy, listed at 6-foot-5, 238-pounds, has played sparingly in reserve this season, appearing in games against Rice, Baylor, Kansas and Houston.
A four-star recruit coming out of Junipero Serra High (Gardena, California) in 2022, Murphy redshirted last season and has completed only 4 of 8 pass attempts for 47 yards this year.
As for former No. 1 recruit Arch Manning, Sarkisian didn’t rule him out for Saturday’s game.
“Maalik’s going to start the game and go play in this game,” Sarkisian said. “I haven’t made a decision if I want to get Arch in there just to get him in there or not, but we have discussed that some because I do think there’s some valuable experience for him in that. But, I have to make that’s in the best interest of the team.”