Texas caps a positive spring with a positive spring game, as quarterbacks shine

For those keeping track at home, Texas' White team earned a 21-10 win over its Orange opponents at the spring scrimmage Saturday.

That score was mostly inconsequential. None of the football program's trophies in the Denius Hall of Fame were won at an Orange-White game in the spring.

Still, Saturday's game did allow Texas to put the finishing touches on a spring slate that began when the Longhorns held their first practice March 6. The intrasquad skirmish also gave media members and fans a glimpse at the team that Texas will trot onto the same field to face Rice on Sept. 2.

"All in all for me, it was a positive day from a spring game perspective," UT coach Steve Sarkisian said. "It was a positive spring."

In addition to cheering for Bijan Robinson since the NFL draft prospect was on the sidelines, fans at Royal-Memorial Stadium got a look at some of the running backs vying to replace the Doak Walker Award winner. CJ Baxter scored the game's first touchdown on a fourth-and-1 plunge, Jaydon Blue had a highlight-reel run that probably left defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski grimacing, and converted wideout Savion Red showed promise as both a rusher (nine carries for 45 yards) and receiver (two catches for 5 yards).

More: Ewers seals the job, but Maalik Murphy wowed — our spring game takeaways

Will Stone kicked a 27-yard field goal. Both defenses were limited by whom they could and couldn't hit, and neither side recorded too many highlights, though B.J. Allen Jr. and David Gbenda each had eight tackles and freshman linebacker Liona Lefau broke up a potential touchdown pass in the end zone.

Running backs, linebackers and kickers weren't the story, though. There's a reason prized freshman Arch Manning was given a standing ovation as he entered the scrimmage for the first time.

The spring finale was a showcase for the top quarterbacks on the roster. Quinn Ewers, the incumbent starter, played for the White team. Redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy and Manning split series with the Orange team.

More: Texas will return all five of its starting offensive linemen, a real plus

With the clock partially running, Ewers' White team, which also featured standout receivers Xavier Worthy, Jordan Whittington and Adonai Mitchell, built a 21-3 halftime lead.

How did the quarterbacks fare over the first two quarters?

Quinn Ewers: 15-for-20, 193 yards, 1 touchdown

∙ 1st-and-10 at White 25: Incomplete

∙ 2nd-and-10 at White 25: 2-yard pass to Xavier Worthy

∙ 3rd-and-10 at White 27: Incomplete

∙ 2nd-and-7 at White 23: 1-yard pass to Jordan Whittington

∙ 3rd-and-6 at White 24: 6-yard pass to Adonai Mitchell

∙ 3rd-and-7 at White 33: 14-yard pass to Mitchell

∙ 1st-and-10 at White 47: 46-yard pass to Worthy

∙ 1st-and-10 at White 28: 13-yard pass to Worthy

∙ 2nd-and-14 at White 37: Incomplete

∙ 3rd-and-14 at White 37: Incomplete

∙ 1st-and-10 at White 25: 9-yard pass to Mitchell

∙ 3rd-and-12 at White 39: 19-yard pass to Whittington

∙ 1st-and-10 at White 15: 7-yard pass to CJ Baxter

∙ 3rd-and-2 at White 23: 21-yard pass to Whittington

∙ 1st-and-10 at White 44: Incomplete

∙ 2nd-and-10 at White 44: 2-yard pass to Jaydon Blue

∙ 4th-and-7 at White 47: 22-yard pass to Worthy

∙ 2nd-and-10 at Orange 31: 14-yard pass to Whittington

∙ 1st-and-10 at Orange 17: 4-yard pass to Whittington

∙ 2nd-and-6 at Orange 13: 13-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell

Maalik Murphy: 4-for-5, 56 yards

∙ 2nd-and-8 at Orange 35: 4-yard pass to Savion Red

∙ 3rd-and-4 at Orange 39: Incomplete

∙ 1st-and-10 on Orange 23: 3-yard pass to Johntay Cook II

∙ 2nd-and-7 on Orange 26: 35-yard pass to Ky Woods

∙ 1st-and-10 on White 39: 14-yard pass to DeAndre Moore Jr.

Arch Manning: 1-for-5, 8 yards

∙ 1st-and-10 on Orange 25: 8-yard pass to Thatcher Milton

∙ 2nd-and-2 on Orange 33: Incomplete

∙ 3rd-and-2 on Orange 33: incomplete

∙ 1st-and-10 on Orange 44: Incomplete

∙ 2nd-and-10 on Orange 44: Incomplete

∙ 3rd-and-10 on Orange 44: Incomplete

Despite not connecting with standout tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders once, Ewers finished the game with 195 yards and a touchdown on 16-of-23 passing. Murphy was 9-for-13 for 165 yards. Manning completed just five of his 13 attempts.

Of the passes that Ewers threw Saturday, a few first-half attempts stood out. On the first scoring drive, he found Mitchell for a 14-yard connection on a third-down attempt and then hit a corner-running Worthy on a deep ball that often eluded Texas last season. Mitchell ended the first half with a one-handed snag of an Ewers pass in the end zone.

"I thought Quinn was really efficient today," said Sarkisian, who later asserted that, "Quinn's our starting quarterback, and we feel very good about that."

One of Murphy's completions was a 14-yard pass that he rifled in to DeAndre Moore. His best throws, though, came in the third quarter. One play after Moore got open but dropped what should have been a 79-yard touchdown, Murphy went deep again and connected with Cook for the score.

Manning threw an 8-yard completion on his first attempt. He finished with 30 passing yards and an 8-yard scramble.

"I think both those guys did really well," Ewers said. "Obviously Arch, he just got here and he's learned the offense great; he's coming along great. I'm really fired up about our quarterback room. I think we all get along real well, and I'm excited for the future."

Sarkisian said the team still has one week left in the weight room so the coaches can gauge the progress made this spring. Individual meetings with players will also be held next week. The Longhorns will then get some time off before reconvening for summer workouts after Memorial Day.

"I think it's important, though, that coming off the spring everyone is able to kick back and relax for a little bit and kind of get their mind away from football," linebacker Jaylan Ford said. "There's a lot of mental and physical work that goes into it, so you don't want to overwork yourself. There's going to be a certain point during this break where it's time to reset and realize, OK, I need to get back on my grind."

Said Ewers: "We're going to have a great summer. All of us, we're fully bought in on what we need to accomplish this year."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas concludes spring football workouts with annual Orange-White game