To close out the spring, Texas proves it has depth instead of a controversy at quarterback

Texas wrapped up its spring football practices by lighting off a few offensive fireworks in the Orange-White game on Saturday.

See y'all in August.

Technically, the score was kept. Orange recorded a 35-34 win over White, for what it's worth. But statistics weren't officially tallied and arguably more attention was paid to the in-game interviews with former Longhorns like Bijan Robinson, Marquise Goodwin, Alex Okafor and Cameron Dicker. Texas even kept the drama to a minimum as quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning shared snaps on the White roster instead of going head-to-head.

"Probably the most exciting spring game I've ever been a part of. I've been doing this quite some time, but that was pretty entertaining on a lot of levels," UT coach Steve Sarkisian said. "What I loved about it was we played tackle football for over 100 plays and nobody got injured. I watch these spring games and people are playing two-hand touch and they're playing flag football. Tough still matters, at least in Austin, Texas, it does.

Arch Manning stands out for Texas

The star of the afternoon was Manning. One year after he received a loud ovation from fans by just taking the field in the spring game, Manning earned rounds of applause Saturday with his arm.

In the first half alone, his deep strike to DeAndre Moore Jr. turned into a 75-yard touchdown and he also threw a 29-yard touchdown to Jaydon Blue. According to the Longhorn Network broadcast, the sophomore threw for 190 yards while completing 11 of 13 passes in the first half and he directed a drive in the second quarter's final two minutes that ended with a 32-yard field goal.

To cap his afternoon, Manning threw another 75-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. That ball was caught by Alabama transfer Isaiah Bond.

Manning wasn't the only quarterback to shine

Not to be completely overshadowed on the depth chart, early enrollee Trey Owens threw a 50-yard touchdown to Thatcher Milton and later had a 56-yard touchdown toss to fellow freshman Ryan Wingo. The presumed third-string quarterback connected again with Wingo on the game-winning score with 31 seconds remaining in the scrimmage.

Ewers, who is the incumbent and declared starter, played just two series before calling it a day. The short shift worked by Ewers was by design.

"I thought it was great experience for Arch and for Trey Owens to play football and for extended amount of time at quarterback at this level and they both did some really good things," Sarkisian said.

Assessed Ewers when asked about Manning and Owens: "I think they both did a great job of showcasing how much they've both grown throughout this whole entire spring and it was fun to watch."

A strong showing by the Texas defense

Although it was on the opposite end of the quarterbacks' highlight reel, the defense also had its moments. The scrimmage's first touchdown was actually scored on an interception return by defensive lineman Alfred Collins, who took off after corralling a Ewers pass that had been batted by edge rusher Ethan Burke. Freshman Kobe Black picked off a pass by reserve quarterback Cole Lourd in the third quarter, and the scrimmage ended with a turnover.

Sarkisian had previously reported that the Texas defense had gotten the better of the team's offense during the first two scrimmages of the spring.

"I definitely think we improved a lot," edge rusher Barryn Sorrell said of the defense.

What's next for Texas?

Texas fans will next see the Longhorns on Aug. 31 when UT opens the 2024 season with a home game against Colorado State. The Longhorns will enter their first year in the Southeastern Conference with plenty of buzz since the program reached the College Football Playoff for the first time last season.

In the upcoming days, Texas will hold exit meetings with each of the players. After those meetings, some players may elect to leave via the transfer portal. Others will stick around and start planning for the 2024 season.

What will those exit meetings look like? Earlier in the week, Sarkisian explained that he and his staff will share their thoughts with players about "We walk them through what we think their strengths are, where we think that maybe some of their weaknesses are, things that we want them to work on, what their weight room numbers look like, how they do with recovery in the training room, how they're doing academically." Sarkisian said these meetings can be brutally honest.

"I think one thing our players hopefully appreciate from me and from us as staff is we're really honest with our players, and I try not to give false dreams," Sarkisian said. "I never try to bring a guy in and just tell the guy, 'Hey, you're going to get 25 carries a game,' when he's running with the fours right now just to try to stay here. Because what am I going to get come August 31? I'm going to have a disgruntled player on the sidelines saying I lied to him, that we're not following through with what we said we were going to do. We try to be honest with them."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas quarterback Arch Manning shines in Orange-White football game