{"id":25956,"date":"2025-10-29T09:56:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T09:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/25956\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T09:56:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T09:56:13","slug":"arch-mannings-injury-impacts-freshman-qb-kj-lacey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/25956\/","title":{"rendered":"Arch Manning’s injury impacts freshman QB KJ Lacey"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time this season, Texas football<\/a> has to shuffle things behind center during practice.<\/p>\n

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Quarterback Arch Manning remains out while following concussion protocol determined by doctors. Fifth-year senior Matthew Caldwell<\/a>, an offseason transfer now at his fourth school, is working with the No. 1 offense. And true freshman KJ Lacey Jr., who won the battle for the No. 3 job over redshirt freshman Trey Owens earlier this season, finally gets a chance to move up the pecking order and run the second team.<\/p>\n

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NO. 20 TEXAS VS. NO. 9 VANDERBILT<\/p>\n

When\/where:\u00a011 a.m. Saturday at Royal-Memorial Stadium<\/p>\n

TV\/radio:\u00a0ABC; 1300 AM, 98.1 FM, 105.3 FM (Spanish)<\/p>\n

Considering the comfort level that head coach Steve\u00a0Sarkisian and his staff seemingly have with Caldwell, Lacy\u2019s work Monday during the first practice of the week proved a highlight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the bigger thing for today was that KJ Lacey got reps with the twos, and I thought that was really good for him,\u201d\u00a0Sarkisian said Monday when asked about Caldwell\u2019s first day working with the starters. \u201c(Lacey) is a very talented player who’s been growing and getting better, so it was fun for us to see him get more reps today.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE: 3 reasons Texas football will beat Vanderbilt sans Arch Manning | Golden<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns quarterback KJ\u00a0Lacey Jr. warms up before the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Florida Gators on October 4, 2025 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field in Gainesville, Fla. (Photo by David\u00a0Rosenblum\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Icon Sportswire\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Texas vs Vanderbilt: Is Lacey one snap away from action?<\/p>\n

If Manning misses<\/a> Saturday\u2019s game against No. 9 Vanderbilt<\/a>, Caldwell will make his 11th career start, which includes one with Jacksonville State in 2021, five with Gardner-Webb in 2023 and four with Troy last year. He would be making his 29th\u00a0collegiate appearance.<\/p>\n

That veteran savvy showed Saturday against Mississippi State, when Caldwell stepped in for Manning in overtime and lofted a game-winning touchdown pass to Emmett Mosley V after a questionable hit<\/a> sent Manning into concussion protocol.<\/p>\n

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But what, exactly, has Lacy shown in practice that gives Texas confidence in an 18-year-old who’s just one snap away from a possible spot in the starting lineup?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he can extend the plays very well, and he\u2019s fast,\u201d UT wide receiver Parker\u00a0Livingstone said. \u201cI mean, I see him like a Bryce Young kind of guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Sarkisian didn\u2019t make that specific comparison, it seems apt. Young, the quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, checks in an official 5-foot-10 and 204 pounds. He makes up for that lack of conventional size with good mobility, tremendous accuracy and sixth-sense pocket awareness.<\/p>\n

Sarkisian played a big role in recruiting Young<\/a> to Alabama back in 2020, a year before Sarkisian took over at Texas. Young went on to win the\u00a0Heisman Trophy in 2021 and become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

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Could Lacey (6-foot, 189 pounds) follow a similar career path? It\u2019s too early to tell, but the freshman has made a big impact on Sarkisian and the Texas staff during his first season.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s done a great job,\u201d Sarkisian said. \u201cOne thing with KJ, every time we’ve been in scrimmage settings and things of that nature, we do a lot of work when it’s twos on twos, threes on threes, and we let these guys play. He really performs at a high level. He\u2019s a gamer. He’s got a natural feel for passing the ball. He’s got a natural feel in the pocket and anticipating throws. He uses his legs really well. The more this guy grows within our system, he’s going to really elevate his game as he continues to go, and that’s what he’s done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas defensive end Ethan Burke feels that, too, especially when he has to chase the nimble Lacey around during practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cKJ, I think he has fun playing the game,\u201d Burke said. \u201cI think he’s a creative quarterback and an athletic quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n

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And Lacey\u2019s apparently not shy about taking command on the field, which is another reason he jumped Owens on the depth chart earlier this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he’s one of the most vocal guys in that freshman class,\u201d Livingstone said. \u201cI think you have to be when you’re a quarterback, and he’s a great quarterback. It\u2019s great to see him step up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dia Bell: Incoming freshman will give Lacey future competition<\/p>\n

But what does Lacey\u2019s future look like at Texas?<\/p>\n

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Manning, a\u00a0redshirt sophomore now in his third season, will likely play at least one more year as the Longhorns\u2019 starter in 2026. Class of 2026 pledge\u00a0Dia Bell<\/a> will arrive next spring as a five-star recruit with loads of potential. Sarkisian is also knee-deep in evaluating class of 2027 quarterbacks such as Kavian Bryant<\/a>, a dual-threat prospect from the East Texas town of Palestine.<\/p>\n

Owens looks like a candidate to enter the portal if the redshirt freshman wants to compete for a starting job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lacey, himself a former four-star recruit, could serve as a stopgap between Manning and Bell in 2027 if Manning turns pro. But as he\u2019s shown while winning the No. 3 job from the more experienced Owens, Lacey seems up for any challenge when it comes to playing time.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou know, he’s just continued to improve,\u201d Sarkisian said. \u201cHe’s got good rapport, especially with those younger receivers. Those are the guys he throws to a lot, so there’s great rapport that he has with those guys. And the ball moves forward when he plays.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I know what’s in there, and I\u2019m very encouraged by what he’s done up until this point.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the first time this season, Texas football has to shuffle things behind center during practice. Quarterback Arch…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3230,261,18220,18219,3232,266,3231,27,29,537,536,28,796],"class_list":["post-25956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-arch-manning","tag-college-football","tag-football-recruiting","tag-quarterbacks","tag-sec-conference-football","tag-sec-football","tag-steve-sarkisian","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-longhorns","tag-texas-longhorns-football","tag-texas-news","tag-vanderbilt-commodores"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}