Do not be surprised if Arch Manning gets passed on the depth chart for second string this season, and then is not seen as the incumbent started heading into 2025 after the presumed exit of 2024 starting quarterback, Quinn Ewers.
The reason you ask? No, not Ewers coming back for another season for which he is eligible. And no, not Maalik Murphy coming back to Texas, but current true freshman quarterback, Trey Owens.
Owens was part of the 2024 high school recruiting class for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns. According to www.on3.com, he is ranked as the 274th player nationally, 20th ranked quarterback nationally and 47th best player in the state of Texas.
Freshman QB Trey Owens in his first spring practice in Austin @Horns247 | #HookEm https://t.co/zPAXfqnNgO pic.twitter.com/E1bw32r3Dc
— Jordan Scruggs (@JScruggs247) March 20, 2024
Owens is listed currently as the third string quarterback on the depth chart according to www.ourlads.com, but reports out of spring practice are that Owens is doing very well.
In a press conference two weeks ago, Sarkisian stated, “Trey is a natural passer…It definitely shows in practice. He has the ability to pass the football. He can make all the throws.”
“Stacking strong performances throughout the week and along with a productive senior season make the Houston native a ‘stock up’ prospect,” www.on3.com’s National Scout Cody Bellaire stated in an article written by Charles Powers.
This is something to keep an eye on in Austin. And hopefully for Longhorn fans, it is not until 2025 as that would mean success and lack of injuries are keeping Ewers on the field for the entirety of 2024, but much like the quarterback controversy this past off season in Tuscaloosa between Ty Simpson and Jalen Milroe, we could have one brewing in Austin as well.