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Steve Sarkisian says Maalik Murphy will start versus BYU

Joe Cookby: Joe Cook10/26/23josephcook89
om - 2023-09-17T175912.108
Maalik Murphy (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

During his regular Thursday Zoom call with the media, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Maalik Murphy will start in place of the “week-to-week” Quinn Ewers versus the BYU Cougars on Saturday.

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“I would say today was Maalik’s best practice since he’s been here,” Sarkisian said. “That’s a good thing for us that as the week has gone on, his game has elevated, his understanding of the gameplan 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, who has started every game this year for Texas, was injured during the course of the game versus Houston. On Monday, Sarkisian called him week-to-week due to what’s been reported to be a shoulder injury. Prior to his exit, Ewers was 151-for-213 for 1915 yards and 13 touchdowns over three interceptions on the year. He also has five rushing touchdowns.

Murphy, a 6-foot-5, 238-pound redshirt freshman from Inglewood (Calif.) Junipero Serra, entered at quarterback upon Ewers’ exit versus UH. He was 1-for-2, but largely made all the right reads versus the Cougars. This year, Murphy is 4-for-8 for 47 yards. He has played in games versus Rice, Baylor, Kansas, and Houston.

Manning, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2023 On3 Industry Ranking, has not yet seen the field this season.

“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.”

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Texas takes on the BYU Cougars this Saturday in Austin, Texas at 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised by ABC.

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