Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said he won’t decide until Friday whether Quinn Ewers or Arch Manning will quarterback the No. 1 team in the nation in Saturday’s game against Mississippi State. Ewers left the game against UTSA in Week 3 with abdominal tension and was replaced by Manning. The redshirt freshman started in Ewers’ place last weekend in Louisiana’s 51-3 win over Monroe, a game in which Texas improved to 4-0. Sarkisian told reporters Thursday that he wants Ewers, who is in his third season as the Longhorns’ starter, to be given maximum time to recover before drafting a quarterback. “We’ll make a decision on quarterback (Friday),” Sarkisian said. “It’s not a secret. We’re not trying to hide it from anyone. We just want to give Quinn every opportunity to see if he’s ready to play and what he’s like. I think Arch has had a very good week. In his first college start, Manning completed 15 of 29 passes for 258 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions against ULM. Manning, who appeared in relief of Ewers in the UTSA game, completed 9 of 12 passes for 223 yards, four TD passes and a 67-yard touchdown run. Ewers went 19-6 as a starter at Texas. His 6,347 career passing yards rank seventh in program history. His 45 passing touchdowns ranks sixth. Mississippi State will be the Longhorns’ first Southeastern Conference opponent. The Bulldogs (1-3, 0-1 SEC) lost quarterback Blake Shapen for the season with a shoulder injury in their conference opener, losing 45-28 to Florida last Saturday. Freshman Michael Van Buren will make his first college start for the Bulldogs on Saturday in Austin. –Field level media
