Steve Sarkisian makes bold prediction on Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning, Maalik Murphy
As part of a sit-down interview with former USC quarterback Matt Leinart, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian made quite a bold declaration on his current quarterback room.
Sarkisian was actually the quarterbacks coach for Leinart when both were at USC back in the mid-2000s. Obviously, Leinart won the 2004 Heisman trophy and then led the Trojans to the brink of a national title, losing to Texas in the final game, coincidentally. But at one point, Leinart was apart of a QB room that included another Heisman winner and future NFL star, Carson Palmer, as well as a third successful pro in Matt Cassel.
When speaking with his old QB coach, Leinart recalled what a loaded room he was apart of back then, asking Sarkisian if this current group of quarterbacks on the Texas roster matches that level of talent. His response:
“I think back to sitting with you, Carson and with Matt Cassel, and all three of you starting quarterbacks in the NFL. I think this room is just like that. I have no bones about it. All three of those guys are going to be starters in the NFL.”
Those three quarterbacks: starter Quinn Ewers, backup redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy, and of course, the crown jewel of the 2023 recruiting class, Arch Manning. Matching the success of the Palmer-Leinart-Cassel trio will be extremely difficult, but per Steve Sarkisian, the talent is most certainly there.
Ewers has already proven his worth at the college level, but with him sidelined for at least one more game, Murphy will have a chance early in his career to prove he has NFL promise today against Kansas State.
Urban Meyer says winner of Texas-Kansas State will win Big 12
Urban Meyer made some bold declarations on the state of the current Big 12 just before what he deems a massive matchup in the league title race between Texas and Kansas State.
With five teams currently tied atop the Big 12 standings at 4-1 in league play, Meyer loves the depth of the league this year, and just before many teams are realigned. He even pointed out that the two conferences set to undergo the biggest changes, the Big 12 and Pac-12, are the two leagues he believes are the strongest this season.
“Big 12 conference, it’s getting broken up a little bit. I think they’re either the best or second-best conference in college football. Think about that. Big 12 breaking up, Pac-12 breaking up,” he commented.
Moving on, when it comes to the Big 12 championship this year, Meyer has today’s Texas vs. Kansas State game circled as a contest that will ultimately decide who wins the league.
“Who’s going to win the Big 12? This is how big this game is. Who wins this game today will win the Big 12 championship,” he commented live from Austin ahead of the Texas-Kansas State game.
Some pretty massive stakes for the Longhorns and Wildcats today, per Urban Meyer.