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Texas Longhorn coach Steve Sarkisian has ushered in a level of football that most Longhorn fans have not seen in more than a decade. Some of you have forgotten what it feels like. This is not something I have witnessed at Texas since arriving in 2014.
It is safe to say we will not have a meaningless quarterback debate anytime soon. Just think of all the time we wasted debating which average-to-subpar quarterback was better than another average-to-subpar quarterback. The only real winners were the doctors who prescribed medicine for those who raised their blood pressure during the painful months. It was like spending months debating which fast food place is better – Hardee’s or Carl’s Jr.? Even if you win the debate, what did you win?
Sarkisian has eliminated that lack of elite talent in the Longhorn quarterback room, an improvement this program desperately needed before his arrival. He inherited a fixer-upper QB room and has turned it into something that would impress the Property Brothers. Sarkisian will acquire talented quarterbacks. He will lose talented quarterbacks. Regardless, Sarkisian will seemingly maintain a level of talent in that room to compete at a high level every year.
Welcome back to Big Boy Football.
This is not for the weak.
It is not for those who act on emotions.
It is not for those who cannot see the big picture.
It is only for those who understand the business of sports.
Former Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy entered the transfer portal this past week. The only slight surprise about Murphy’s decision was his leaving before the Sugar Bowl. I was told Sarkisian informed Murphy he could enter the transfer portal, stay throughout the playoffs, and leave after this season.
However, Murphy decided he wanted to find a permanent home sooner than later and departed the 40 Acres.
When the news broke, I instantly remembered what Sarkisian told me when I asked him about Murphy’s dedication to the program after the quarterback started during the win against BYU.
“To me, in this era of things don't go my way and I'm gonna take my ball and go somewhere else, to have players on your roster that believe in this team, that believe in this football program, that believe in this university, that love being here, that's ultimately why the culture is the way it is in our locker room,” Sarkisian said. “For Maalik Murphy to commit to the University of Texas and then Quinn Ewers decides to transfer to Texas and he doesn't blink. He still comes here. He's fighting through an injury his freshman year that he had sustained in the state championship game, and Arch Manning commits and shows up. Two number-one players in the country back-to-back show up. Goes out and has a really good spring game and people go out and allegedly try to recruit him to transfer. I know this, and I'm going to be candid on this, he didn't stay because of NIL. I had my exit meeting and he didn't bring up one thing about NIL. He stayed because he wanted to be part of this team. And he just wanted to make sure that he had an opportunity to compete, and that's what makes him special.”
I was previously told several teams pursued Murphy after the spring game, including a prominent SEC program.
“I think that's why our team really loves him so much is that he loves his teammates,” Sarkisian said. “He's a great teammate. He motivates Quinn when Quinn's in there. He's a great teammate with Arch. That's why that quarterback room is so good right now. Those guys have a great rapport with one another. It was not about Maalik making his start as much as, okay, Maalik’s starting, how are we going to go win the game? That was our team's mentality. And so, in the end, I don't think it is just Maalik Murphy. I think we have a lot of guys like that. They recognize the opportunities that they have here. They recognize the team and the culture that we have here. And inevitably, what can they do to help us try to go win a championship?
"Today [Saturday] Maalik got his opportunity to go play and, again, showed the resiliency and perseverance that I think our team has the way he responded to a couple of those turnovers, and I just couldn't be happier for him.”
Everyone is still happy for Murphy.
The reality is that Murphy’s departure simply means Quinn Ewers’ immediate backup is just a 5-star quarterback named Arch Manning.
Meanwhile, the starting quarterback is a former 5-star.
And Texas has a verbal commitment from 2025 QB KJ Lacey, who could emerge into a 5-star.
It would have been nice for Murphy to stay. However, the reality of having a stacked quarterback room is good players will leave. And the program will not skip a beat.
Let's use Ohio State as a good example.
Former Ohio State quarterback Joe Burrow was buried on the depth chart after three seasons with the Buckeyes. Who else was in the room? Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett, and Dwayne Haskins.
Burrow lost the starting quarterback job to Haskins before the 2018 season, which led to LSU as a graduate transfer to play his final two seasons of eligibility.
Oh, and Burrow eventually led LSU to a 15-0 season, national title, and won the Heisman Trophy.
We are now in a similar quarterback world.
Remember the old world? Here is a list of quarterbacks who have recently committed to Texas in their respective classes:
2009 – Garrett Gilbert
2010 – Case McCoy, Connor Wood
2011 – David Ash
2012 – Connor Brewer
2013 – Tyrone Swoopes
2014 – Jerrod Heard
2015 – Matthew Merrick, Kai Locksley
2016 – Shane Buechele
2017 – Sam Ehlinger
2018 – Casey Thompson, Cameron Rising
2019 – Roschon Johnson
2020 – Hudson Card, Ja’Quiden Jackson
2021 – Charles Wright
Murphy was a member of the 2022 class.
Boy, that list makes you appreciate Sarkisian, huh?
And it makes you wonder why the heck were we standing on the table for the majority of those quarterbacks.
Murphy left and the quarterback room remains healthy. Ewers is the starter. Manning is the backup. Wright moves to the No.3 spot. Next year, Ewers and Manning will remain in their respective spots, while incoming freshman quarterback Trey Owens will likely redshirt.
If you missed it, here is what I said about Manning in Thursday’s War Room:
“He moved into the No.2 role and will back up Quinn Ewers throughout the playoffs. From what I was told, Manning has constantly improved in practice this season. Manning’s biggest adjustments have been adjusting to the speed of college football and reading defenses under pressure. That adjustment is typical for every freshman quarterback, including Manning.
“However, I was told Manning can currently run the entire offseason and has mobility to add another weapon to his arsenal. The staff has a lot of confidence in Manning’s ability to play at a high level if necessary.
“--- Speaking of Manning, check out how hard the freshman has worked this year.
“When Manning arrived on campus, he weighed 210 pounds.
“And now?
“Manning weighs 225 pounds.
“Yes, that is all muscle.”
That is not all.
In addition, I learned Manning has been told to prepare for the Sugar Bowl like he is the starter. They want him to be ready if there is an emergency. In addition, they want him to maintain that same mentality next season.
Unfortunately, history has proven that quarterbacks at Texas will miss games due to an injury.
2009 – Colt McCoy sustains an injury during the national championship game against Alabama.
2013 – "AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas medical staff says junior quarterback Davis Ash won't play Thursday night against Iowa State because of a head injury. Senior Case McCoy will start for the Longhorns (2-2) against the Cyclones (1-2). Ash has missed part or all of Texas' previous three games after being injured in the second half of a loss at BYU on Sept. 7. He missed Texas' loss to Mississippi the next week with concussion-like symptoms and was told to stay away that night to avoid the crowds and lights of the stadium."
2014 – Ash sustains another brain injury and Swoopes emerges as the starter.
2015 – Jerrod Heard sustains a concussion in the first half of a loss against Texas Tech and is replaced by Swoopes. Swoopes, a junior, started most of 2014 and the first game of this season but was replaced by Heard after a blowout loss at Notre Dame in the season opener.
2017 – Sam Ehlinger had a concussion and Shane Buechele sustained a bruised shoulder.
2018 – Ehlinger left a game against Baylor early in the first quarter with an injury to his throwing shoulder and did not return. He was replaced with Buechele.
2019 – Ehlinger was forced to play through a rib injury.
2020 – Ehlinger sustained a shoulder injury in the first half against Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. Casey Thompson took over as the quarterback at the start of the third quarter.
2021 – Thompson played with a thumb injury. Later that season, Thompson is helped off the field against West Virginia, and Hudson Card, who got rolled up on a possible late hit, left the game but had to limp back onto the field. Charles Wright was a play away from entering that game.
2022 – Ewers missed three games due to two sprains at his clavicle. Card sustained an ankle injury against Alabama and played through pain.
2023 – Ewers missed two games due to an AC joint sprain
What is the difference between then and now?
When Ewers missed two games, Texas found a way to win with a young quarterback and Texas is poised to win with its quarterbacks in the future, regardless of who stays or leaves.
Welcome back to Big Boy Football.
Funniest Things You Will See This Week
Technically, the security guard was just doing his job
Good luck to the dog and owner
There is no way his business will survive this
Not fair at all (adult humor)
Sports On A Dime
1. Volleyball coach Jerritt Elliott on the elements it takes for a school like Texas to be successful in most sports: “The wonderful woman sitting back there, Chris Plonsky, was the one that hired me when I was wet behind the ears at 32 years old and trying to turn a program around when it was 10-18. Thank goodness she believed in me. The stress and the amount of work to sustain something at this level is tremendous, and I don't think people understand that. The more success you have, the more -- I don't know, the more as a coach, it just makes you feel uncomfortable because the success rate, it's either this or nothing, and it's not successful.
“But what we've tried to do is have fun and create the right kind of players. Our administration has given us all the resources. I've become a lot more of a CEO of the business management of creating a brand and making sure relationships with coaches and what we're doing marketing-wise and building the arenas and doing all the things, from what kind of music we're using and every little aspect of that, looking at how do we sustain this, how do we grow it, how do we keep up and sustain with Nebraska? They're a benchmark as well.
“So how do you keep up with the sport? And now where social media is, and now you've got this NIL piece. All these pieces come into play, and then you're trying to take care of these incredible young women to give them a platform where they can emotionally grow as young women and have confidence in what they're doing.”
2. Elliott on Nebraska: “I think they've got every facet of the game. They play at a really high level, and they're very efficient. They've got a great backcourt defense with the Smalls. They've got really good blocking. They've got a lot of good arms. Bergen is setting the ball really well, and they block well. So, they can put a lot of pressure on you from the service line. They pass really well. There's a reason that they're whatever and 1. We're excited. It should be a really good matchup for us and excited to play it.”
3. One thing has become clear, Sarkisian loves to add playmakers at receiver through the transfer portal. Sarkisian received a commitment from former Houston receiver Matthew Golden on Saturday. Last year, Sarkisian added Adonai Mitchell. In 2022, Isaiah Neyor transferred from Wyoming and Tarique Milton left Iowa State, and both receivers transferred to Texas in 2022. Props to Sarkisian for not taking risks and adding talented receivers each year.
4. Former Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy’s next home needs to be a place where he is guaranteed to start next season. Sure, the coach will say Murphy needs to “compete” for the starting job. However, that competition needs to be a formality which results in him being named the team’s starter during training camp.
5. Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian wants the Longhorns to schedule tough nonconference opponents in the future. However, that is not how most SEC schools handle their nonconference schedules. Time will tell if Texas is a trendsetter or adjusts to the SEC formula of scheduling nonconference cupcakes.
6. PFF recently published a five-round mock draft for the Houston Texans and had Texas receiver Adonai Mitchell as a first-round pick. The hype surrounding Mitchell will likely grow during bowl season and the predraft process.
ROUND 1, PICK 24: WR ADONAI MITCHELL, TEXAS
Wide receiver isn’t the most glaring need for the Texans; Nico Collins is having a breakout season, Noah Brown is playing well and Tank Dell was looking like a true difference-maker as a slot receiver before his injury.
But Mitchell gives them a boost in talent level, no matter how you slice it. He is a smooth route runner for a 6-foot-4 receiver, as evidenced by his 73rd-percentile separation percentage against single coverage. He’s also a reliable red-zone threat who accounted for three red-zone touchdowns this year. Collins also has only one more year on his rookie deal. Drafting Mitchell sets up a very nice wide receiver corps for 2024 and safeguards them from Collins' potential departure in 2025.
7. In addition, ESPN projected Xavier Worthy and Mitchell as first-round picks in a recent mock draft:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7)
Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas
Mike Evans is potentially hitting free agency in March, and even if the perennial 1,000-yard receiver returns, he will turn 31 years old in August. It's time for Tampa Bay to invest in a younger top-tier pass-catcher, at least as long as one of the top four quarterbacks doesn't slip to No. 19. Worthy is fast and elusive with big-play ability. He has scored 25 touchdowns for Texas during the past three seasons and is a blur with the ball in his hands.
Kansas City Chiefs (8-5)
Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas
Another receiver? This makes it eight in Round 1, which would break the standing record of seven set in 2004. But this WR class is dominant, and the Chiefs obviously need one. The Chiefs lead the NFL in dropped passes (29), and go-to tight end Travis Kelce is in his age-34 season. It's time to upgrade the pass-catchers on the roster for Patrick Mahomes. Mitchell is a playmaker who moves the chains at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds. He also has 10 touchdowns on 51 catches (just one drop) this season and consistently comes up big in crucial moments for the Longhorns.
8. File these nuggets away for when we begin discussing Texas' conference opponents next year
9. If you need something to cheer you up on Sunday ...
10. There is never a wrong time for a Mike Tyson flashback
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