Cliffs Notes: The Longhorns picked up its quarterback for the 2024 recruiting class on Tuesday with the commitment of Ct-Fair standout Trey Owens,
Rankings: Here's the industry breakdown...
LSR: High 3 stars, No.85 in Texas
Rivals: (5.8) High 3 star, No.22 Pro-style QB
ESPN: NR
On3: (88) High 3-star, No.27 QB, No.81 in Texas
247: (88) High 3 star, No.28 QB, No.52 in Texas
247 composite: (.8759) High 3 star, No.34 QB, No.69 in Texas
Notable offers: Baylor, Texas Tech. U.Conn, Houston, Rice, Tulsa, UTSA and Washington State.
Evaluation: It gets clearer and clearer each year that Steve Sarkisian is at Texas what kind of quarterback he prefers to run his offense through and Owens might be the clearest example of it yet. At his absolute best, Owens will remind you a little of Arch Manning in that he's a true pro-style passer, who can stand tall in the pocket and when his mechanics are at their very best, he delivers a very catchable ball that can be delivered all over the field. He also seems to be a guy that does a good job of going through his progressions at this stage of his development. Like most young quarterbacks, he can be a little inconsistent when his mechanics are off. From an athleticism standpoint, he can move around a little bit, but he might be the least mobile quarterback that Sarkisian will have had with the Longhorns. He's the kind of guy that can make a play or two off-schedule runs per game, but he's not going to be a threat that teams respect with the zone-read concepts.
Why it matters: Owens is the first piece of the puzzle in a world where something gives when the Ewers/Murphy/Manning trio breaks up after the dust settles. Assuming that Manning is on campus through the 2025 or 2026 season, the Longhorns have to have some scholarship depth on the roster that can develop while those currently on campus do their thing.
Expectations: Owens probably isn't going to play for Texas for a while once he arrives. Expect a redshirt season in the 2024 season and then it's very possible that he'll become the back-up quarterback to the winner of the Murphy/Manning battle, assuming the loser of that battle eventually transfers. If Owens develops nicely, he could be an option as a starter when the 2026 or 2027 season rolls around.
Math: I've always joked that one of the great underrated jewels in the state of Texas is the high three-star quarterback. From 2005-2017, 16.7% of all high three-star quarterbacks from the state of Texas have played in the NFL. Check out the names... Chase Daniel, Christian Ponder, Greg McElroy, Johnny Manziel, David Blough and some guy named Patrick Mahomes, This list doesn't include names like Seth Doege, G.J. Kinne, David Ash, Michael Brewer and Jameill Showers, who are at least memorable college players and/or fringe NFL players. That means that more than 30% of high three star quarterbacks from Texas end up hitting on some relevant scale.
Must See: Junior highlights.
