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Texas is entering its Week 10 matchup against the No. 10 Vanderbilt Commodores possibly without its starting quarterback in Arch Manning. Manning left last week's game vs. Mississippi State late and has been in the concussion protocol ever since.
Although Manning has practiced this week leading up to a critical home game against the Commodores, his backup, Matthew Caldwell could be the starter on Saturday. He came off the bench and helped lead Texas to a 45-38 victory over the Bulldogs in overtime.
Texas QB depth chart
| QB | Player |
| No. 1 | Arch Manning |
| No. 2 | Matthew Caldwell |
| No. 3 | KJ Lacey |
| No. 4 | Trey Owens |
Matthew Caldwell
Texas' quarterback No. 2 behind Manning is senior quarterback Matthew Caldwell. Against the Bulldogs, Caldwell hit his receiver Emmett Mosely for a 10-yard touchdown pass to give the Longhorns the win in overtime:
This is one touchdown Matthew Caldwell will never forget. pic.twitter.com/0mO6pjhpbT
— Jamie Gatlin (@JamieGatlin17) October 26, 2025It was just his seventh pass completion for Texas all season.
"The good thing for Matt, he’s a very even-keeled guy," Sarkisian said of Caldwell this week. "I thought he had a great practice today. The players have a lot of confidence in him. He’s very engaged even when he doesn’t play," Sarkisian said. "He's played well every time that we've put him in the game. What gives me confidence is who he's been, so I feel very comfortable with Matt whenever he's in the ballgame.
"He's earned the respect of his teammates," Sark continued. "He has a great relationship with Arch. They respect the fact that he's ready. The moment's not too big for him."
Karle "KJ" Lacy Jr.
Behind Caldwell, Texas has true freshman Karle "KJ" Lacey Jr. He's a former 4-star recruiting prospect from the class of 2025, out of Saraland, Ala. Per the 247Sports Composite, Lacy was the No. 14 rated signal-caller from the class of 2025, and was No. 11 out of the state of Alabama.
He led his Saraland high school to a class 6A state title as a sophomore, and threw for 9,883 yards with 123 touchdowns and 20 interceptions over four seasons. He rushed for another 11 touchdowns, per Maxpreps. He's completed just one pass for the Longhorns this season.
Trey Owens
Redshirt freshman signal-caller Trey Owens is behind Lacey. He is a 4-star signee from Sarkisian's class of 2024 out of Cypress, Texas, rated as the No. 21 signal-caller from 2024. In high school, he threw for 6,411 yards with 81 touchdowns and 11 interceptions over three seasons. He's completed just two passes during his Longhorn career.
MORE: College football Week 10 picks, predictions against the spread
Who is Matthew Caldwell?
Caldwell is a native of Auburn, Ala. He started his career with Jacksonville State, located in Alabama, in 2021.
He then transferred to FCS Gardner-Webb, where he spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Over two seasons with the Bulldogs, he appeared in 10 games, throwing for 2,548 yards with 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also rushed for three scores.
Last season, he played for Troy and started the Trojans' final five games. He completed a career-high 63.2 percent of his passes for 1,608 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also rushed for a career-high five touchdowns.
MORE: What to know about Arch Manning getting pulled over in Austin
Matthew Caldwell recruiting
Caldwell was unrated as a high school prospect per the 247Sports Composite. Jacksonville State is listed as his only school interest per 247Sports, where he enrolled in June of 2021. His high school stats appear to have been few and far between.
Per Maxpreps, he threw for 618 yards with eight touchdowns and nine interceptions over three seasons tracked by the outlet. He added 95 yards on the ground with a touchdown.
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