4 bold predictions for Texas football vs. UL-Monroe

Maalik Murphy will get his first career TD and more than 100 passing yards

It will be interesting to see how far down the depth chart Sark and the Longhorns go at some of the crucial positions on both sides of the ball this weekend. Quarterback is one of those position groups that have a lot of intrigue beyond the first and second string.

Texas fans are going to want to see what the former four-star Junipero Serra recruit and true freshman quarterback Maalik Murphy can do this fall.

Murphy is definitely going to be more of a developmental quarterback, especially this early in his collegiate career, but it would still be good to get him some of these valuable early live-game reps. This will give him a chance to digest the offense while still making strides in his footwork, pocket awareness, and throwing accuracy.

Most of what we’ve heard about Murphy since the start of fall camp is positive. The returns on his performance were good in practice and the two fall scrimmage, despite him taking mostly third and fourth-team reps along with third-year quarterback Charlie Wright.

Yet, if Texas does go beyond the first two strings on the quarterback depth chart this weekend, Murphy could get his shot if he earned this third-team spot over Wright.

If that is the case, Murphy clearly has the talent to spread the ball all over the field against a secondary like ULM’s. And Texas still has plenty of skill position weapons in the second and third-team offense to give Murphy multiple options when going through his reads on pass plays.