By JIM VERTUNO
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.
It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.
Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning. He was one of the highest-rated recruits in the country coming out of high school after the 2022 season.
“Arch is more than capable,” of being the Texas starter, Sarkisian said. “I don’t think he has to focus on leading right now. I think he needs to focus on knowing what he’s supposed to do and do it at a high level.”
The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.
“We feel like Quinn has made great strides … (but) I’m looking forward to his future as a player and also the future of this season for us, the longevity, and getting him one more week healthier for the long term, is good for us as we’re getting ready for SEC play,” Sarkisian said.
Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries. Sarkisian insisted he will return as the starter when he is ready.
“He’s in really good spirits,” Sarkisian said of Ewers. “All the goals that we had for him coming into this season are still there for him. I think we have a national championship caliber team and he’s the quarterback of that team. We still have that in front of us to go do that.
“With some of the games we have coming up down the road, this guy’s going to be in New York for the Heisman, whether he wins it or not. He has the ability to be a top five NFL draft pick. … Saturday, him not playing in this game, is not going to impact those three things and the goals we set for him and he’s working toward.”
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