Texas' Top Team Delays Announcing Starting Quarterback Until Friday

The head coach of Texas, Steve Sarkisian, stated that he will not make a decision until Friday on whether Quinn Ewers or Arch Manning will be the quarterback for the top-ranked team in the nation when they face Mississippi State on Saturday.

Ewers suffered an abdominal strain during the Longhorns' victory over UTSA in Week 3 and was replaced by Manning. The redshirt freshman then started in Ewers' place in the following game, a dominant 51-3 win over Louisiana-Monroe, as Texas improved to a 4-0 record.

During a press conference on Thursday, Sarkisian explained that he wants to give Ewers, who has been the starting quarterback for the Longhorns for three seasons, enough time to recover before announcing the starting QB.

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"We will make a decision on the quarterback situation tomorrow," Sarkisian said. "We will not keep it a secret. Our intention is not to deceive anyone. We simply want to give Quinn the best opportunity to see if he is ready to play and how he performs. I believe he has been improving every day. Arch has also had a strong week."

In his first start in college, Manning completed 15 out of 29 passes for 258 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions against ULM. When he replaced Ewers in the UTSA game, Manning completed 9 out of 12 passes for 223 yards, with four touchdown passes and a 67-yard touchdown run.

Ewers has a record of 19 wins and 6 losses as a starter for Texas. He has thrown for 6,347 yards in his career, which ranks seventh in the history of the program. He also has 45 passing touchdowns, which ranks sixth.

This will be the first time that the Longhorns face an opponent from the Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs (1-3, 0-1 SEC) lost their first conference game to Florida 45-28 last Saturday and their quarterback, Blake Shapen, suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.

On Saturday in Austin, freshman Michael Van Buren will make his first start for the Bulldogs.