On Thursday, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian unsurprisingly announced that redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning would make his first career start when the Longhorns host the Louisiana Monroe Redhawks on September 21.
Manning is starting in place of Quinn Ewers, who suffered a strained oblique in Texas’ Week 3 rout of the UTSA Roadrunners and is considered ‘week-to-week’ per Sarkisian.
Since Manning usually backs up Ewers, some were left wondering who would back up Manning. Sarkisian answered that, noting that Trey Owens will back up Manning while Cole Lourd wiil be the third-stringer, per Anwar Richardson of Rivals.
Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian said Trey Owens will back up Arch Manning and Cole Lourd is 3rd string against ULM.
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) September 19, 2024
Owens is a true freshman from Houston who played in both the 2023 U.S. Army Bowl and 2024 All-American Bowl. He has yet to see the field for the Longhorns in his short collegiate career. Sarkisian called Owens ‘a natural passer‘ in May after seeing the freshman in spring camp.
Lourd a fourth year senior who is from Los Angeles and made four appearances on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. He hasn’t taken a snap for the Longhorns but his grandfather played for the team and was coached by Darrell Royal, the namesake of Texas’ football stadium.
The Longhorns open SEC play against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on September 28 before a bye week leading to the Red River Rivalry with Oklahoma on October 12.
