Golden: Why Sarkisian won't allow Maalik Murphy to fail against BYU
On Monday, Steve Sarkisian recalled one game at BYU in which there was discussion during a timeout among head coach LaVell Edwards, offensive line coach Roger French and offensive coordinator Norm Chow on the next play call.
Edwards turned to his young quarterback and asked, “Sark, what do you want to run?”
Golden: Texas' great escape in Houston was a sign of Steve Sarkisian's culture build
Sarkisian made his suggestion.
Nearly three decades later, Kirk Bohls asked the Texas coach if the play worked.
“Do you think I would tell if it didn’t?” Sarkisian replied.
Jokes aside, Sarkisian said Edwards always excelled in making players feel his belief in them, a trait he never forgot as he transitioned into the coaching arena.
More: What one word describes Steve Sarkisian as a BYU quarterback? We asked his old teammates.
"I think that's something we've tried to do here, and it’s that when you become the guy at quarterback, there's a sense of belief in that guy,” he said. “And that's why there's that constant dialogue to try to put them in the best position that they feel comfortable with to go execute.”
It's Sarkisian's way of saying he won't allow Maalik Murphy to fail Saturday.
We’re getting ready to see what Sarkisian has in his bag when it comes to Murphy, who's expected to be the starting quarterback for an extended period with the news that Quinn Ewers is week-to-week with a shoulder injury that occurred in the win over Houston. The best coaches are able to adjust their play-calling to the person playing quarterback instead of forcing the player to adjust to an offense that might not fit with his skill set. They’re also able to instill belief in their inexperienced players.
Murphy is in his second season in this system, but there will certainly be some tweaks here and there, especially for his first start. Sarkisian loves the redshirt freshman's arm talent and leadership ability, a pair of attributes that are essential to success behind center.
I’m interested to see if the Horns go more vertical with Murphy. We haven’t seen enough of him to know if he’s more adept at the deep stuff than Ewers, who has admittedly struggled to find consistency in that area his first season and a half as the starter.
Here’s what we know about Murphy:
In the span of 10 minutes this spring, he became a fan favorite. Ironically, it came after he entered the annual Orange-White game to little fanfare. There wasn’t a big ovation when his name was announced, unlike freshman Arch Manning, whose introduction was accompanied by a huge roar from the stands of Royal-Memorial Stadium.
More: Quinn Ewers listed as 'week-to-week' on Texas injury report ahead of BYU football game
The fans knew little of Murphy, except that he was a tremendous physical specimen who was slow to recover from an injury that occurred in his high school’s state championship game.
After he completed 9 of 13 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown with that cannon arm, the fans quickly warmed to his physical talent and the ability he showed to make plays, albeit in a small sample size against people whose dessert would have been replaced with a plate full of wind sprints had they laid one hand on him.
It’s different now. BYU will be coming for him this weekend.
And as for the fans, expect them to greet Texas’ new quarterback with a roof-raising roar when he takes the field. He might not know it, but left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. is his new best friend. He’s also one of several teammates who believe in his ability.
Bohls: Texas reminds us it's all about winning, stays in its spot on my AP Top 25 ballot
“I’ve always told him that his time was coming,” Banks said.
It’s now.
Oh, they still love Arch — he’s already a rock star — but it’s Murphy’s time for now. They should be able to pick up Murphy with the experience on the offensive side of the ball. At the very least, they will deliver a seventh win and prevent that CFP flame from flickering out for good.
Just look at the weapons at his disposal.
Jonathon Brooks, the Big 12’s leading rusher, is averaging nearly 118 rushing yards per game and 6.4 yards per carry and is second in rushing touchdowns with six. Hand it him to 20 times and you know good things are bound to happen, especially against a BYU defense that’s giving up 4.3 yards per attempt under new defensive coordinator Jay Hill.
More: Texas football team survives injury to Quinn Ewers, 'dogfight' with Houston in 31-24 win
Murphy has more receiving options than one can count, including tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders, who hasn’t gotten nearly enough targets given his matchup advantage against most linebackers.
As for the offensive line, it has been up and down. Ewers was sacked an average of 2.4 times per game for 95 yards, which ranks 95th nationally and second-worst in the Big 12, but was often guilty of holding the ball too long and taking on tacklers instead of getting out of bounds.
Not only will Murphy have the BYU defensive coming for his head, but there's also the specter of young Manning waiting in the wings if he struggles.
The Manning hype is huge, but something Murphy need not worry about.
He finally has his chance to start for Texas.
It’s time to shoot his best shot.
So much for that preseason pick
Trifling Trojans: I guess it’s OK to ask what yours truly was thinking when he picked USC to lose to Georgia in the national championship game in the preseason.
I incorrectly deduced that the Trojans would have an easy time of it in the Pac-12 as long as they took care of business against Oregon. As it turns out, that 6-0 start was a big old mirage. One week after Notre Dame humbled them in South Bend, they unofficially took their leave from CFP contention by losing 34-32 in the final seconds at home to Utah.
Lincoln Riley had better enjoy this next game at Cal because he gets Washington, Oregon and UCLA to close out what’s already going to be a disappointing season.
More: Austin American-Statesman producing 160-page book on Longhorns' football years in Big 12
In case you’re wondering whom I’m leaning toward winning it now that the Trojans are out, I’ll roll with Michigan, which survived coach Jim Harbaugh’s suspension and has the look of a team on a mission.
How ’bout them Cowboys? Tough to tell
Are Cowboys top five? I originally thought I would wait until next week to unveil my NFL top five out of respect for the Dallas Cowboys, who didn’t play in Week 7, but since they aren’t even on the list, there’s no time like the present.
Here goes:
No. 1 Kansas City (6-1) has all-world tight end Travis Kelce back healthy, and the much-maligned defense has held all seven opponents under 21 points.
No. 2 San Francisco (which was 5-1 heading into Monday night) has injury concerns with running back Christian McCaffrey and wideout Deebo Samuel, but the 49ers' brand of ball translates well to the postseason. Brock Purdy is no longer Mr. Irrelevant.
No. 3 Philadelphia (6-1) has strength on both lines, and that will keep it in every game. Plus the Eagles seem to get the calls (or noncalls if you ask their Sunday night opponent, Miami).
No. 4 Baltimore (5-2) saw Lamar Jackson riddle the Detroit secondary this week for 393 yards and four touchdowns, though questions remain about his ability to excel in the playoffs.
No. 5 Jacksonville (5-2) was nearly unrecognizable after all those games in Europe, but gets the edge over the Lions and Cowboys. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has figured out he doesn’t have to do it all himself with terrific weapons Christian Kirk and Travis Etienne.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: New Texas QB Murphy will get it done against BYU
