Steve Sarkisian gives Arch Manning the nod, but offers a huge Quinn Ewers caveat

The Texas Longhorns will host the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks this upcoming Saturday. At 3-0, Texas currently sits No. 1 in the AP poll after dominant wins over Michigan, Colorado State, and UTSA. There won't be much doubt as to the favorite going into Week 4.

What fans will pay attention to, however, is the quarterback position. Last week, Texas QB and Heisman favorite Quinn Ewers exited the game with an abdominal strain. His replacement was redshirt freshman Arch Manning, a five-star recruit from the greatest quarterback family of all time.

The first impression was strong. Manning whipped a 19-yard touchdown pass on his first touch, then followed it up with a mesmerizing 67-yard TD run on the next possession. UL Monroe's head coach made a valiant effort to dismiss the fear factor inherent to Manning, but we can see straight through that facade. The Warhawks are in for a long night if Manning is remotely sharp.

And, yes, Manning will start Saturday's game. Ewers was listed week-to-week after the ab injury, but he is officially out of commission for the UL Monroe game. This will be Manning's first start in a Texas uniform and another opportunity to stake his claim in the Texas QB room.

This is rapidly transforming into a legitimate QB controversy, at least in the media. Manning has a certain cachet to his name and the upside is considerable. There's a good chance he is better than Ewers in the near future, if not right now. Can the Longhorns keep the ArchMania at bay for an entire season? It could get hard, especially if Manning puts on a proper show against ULM.

That said, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian made sure to toss some cold water on the Manning hype train.

Steve Sarkisian remains committed to Quinn Ewers despite Arch Manning's first Texas start

In short, Manning is still operating as the backup quarterback. At least for now. He is starting on Saturday because Ewers isn't back up to speed yet. Once Ewers is healthy, we should expect to see the senior gunslinger under center. Now, could that change with a dominant showing from Manning? Perhaps, but it's worth bearing in mind the quality of competition here. We can't take away too much from a presumed beatdown of UL Monroe. Texas probably controls this game start to finish with third-string freshman QB Trey Owens at the controls.

While it's easy to get swept up in the excitement and mystery of a new, highly-touted prospect with a last name that equates to royalty, it's difficult to mount a serious argument against Quinn Ewers as Texas' QB1. The Longhorns were in the playoffs last season and right now, Texas is No. 1 in the country in part due to the strength of Ewers' performance against the vaunted Michigan defense in Week 2.

Ewers does not quite possess the outlier physical tools that Manning does, but he's quite possibly the best arm in college football. Ewers is a potential No. 1 draft pick next April, blessed with remarkable creativity, touch, and strength behind his throws. While not a dual-threat QB in the same sense as Manning, Ewers has enough mobility to extend plays outside the pocket and deliver passes on the move. There aren't too many folks on his level in college football right now.

And, look, maybe Arch is one of the few on Ewers' level. It's entirely possible. While there is probably a valid case, football or non-football, to start Manning full time, college football generally adheres to a certain hierarchy. When all other factors are equal between the upperclassman and the freshman, the former gets the nod. Ewers has been around the block several times. He is a proven winner. And, for that simple reason, he is still the starting quarterback in Texas.