Texas Finds Arch Manning's Backup in Former Troy Starter Matthew Caldwell

Former Troy quarterback Matthew Caldwell will spend his final year of eligibility in the Southeastern Conference, heading to Texas to serve as Arch Manning’s backup.

Caldwell, who began his career as a walk-on at Jacksonville State, has shown an ability to find his way on the field over his four years in college.

The 6-foot-4, 212-pounder brings 23 games of collegiate experience to Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns, who are extremely young at the quarterback position entering 2025.

After the departure of Quinn Ewers to the NFL, Texas returns just two career starts at the position, coming in the form of Arch Manning’s pair of starts last season.

Caldwell will compete with a pair of former four-star recruits in Trey Owens and Karle Lacey Jr. for the reserve role.

During Longhorns’ head coach Steve Sarkisian’s four seasons in Austin, multiple quarterbacks have started games for the team.

Caldwell started the final five games of last year at Troy, where he led the Trojans to a 3-2 record and guided the offense to averaging over 35 points per game with him under center.

On the season, Caldwell threw for over 1,600 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Troy head coach Gerad Parker returns quarterback Will “Goose” Crowder, who threw for 542 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions last year.

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