Longhorn football growth clear ahead of spring game, draft

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It's a pretty safe bet that on any football team, the quarterback room will be the most talked about. Texas football is far from an exception.

Two top recruits headline the room with third-year starter Quinn Ewers leading the group ahead of redshirt freshman Arch Manning. Longhorns head coach praised Ewers' development and rapport with a new receiving corps over the spring.

Sarkisian also mentioned how Manning is having his best practices of the year. While his throwing was complimented, the Longhorns head coach especially noted the Louisiana native's running ability.

"He is a really good athlete," said Sarkisian about Manning. "He's big. He's strong. He's fast. Sometimes he will lean into using his legs to create explosive plays...We want that to almost be a last resort."

Fans will get their first chance to see the Manning and the Longhorns Saturday as Texas will have their annual Orange-White scrimmage. As numbers and depth have improved on the roster over Sarkisian's tenure, the spring game has become more of an actual game. He says he does not know exactly how Saturday will go.

"We haven't nailed it down yet. It's always predicated on who's available. I think we have the bodies this year [for] a game. I think every year we have to tinker with it."

The Longhorns had another scrimmage last Saturday without fans. One part stood out in particular for Sarkisian, especially considering how it went for Texas a season ago.

"In the red area, I thought the offense performed really well. For me, I was pleased with knowing we struggled in the red area a year ago and it's been a point of emphasis of ours offensively."

Next week is the NFL draft. The Longhorns had more than 10 players invited to the NFL combine, a far cry from Sarkisian's first year when Texas had zero players drafted.

"It's a lesson learned on really good teams the win championships, that compete for national championships...with team success comes the individual accolades, honors and achievements. It doesn't go the other way," Sarkisian said.