AUSTIN, Texas — [To the tune of “I’ve Been Everywhere”]
Northern Alabama, Sam Houston, Abilene Christian, Limestone, Mercer, Marshall, Robert Morris, North Carolina AT&T, William & Mary, Appalachian State, Elon, Tennessee State, East Carolina, Memphis, Iowa, Texas State, South Alabama, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Southern Miss.
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Vanderbilt?
After stops at Jacksonville State, Gardner-Webb, and Troy, the list of opponents Texas redshirt senior Matthew Caldwell has played against is remarkable, a road less traveled by the veteran quarterback to the Forty Acres, gradually climbing the ranks of college football to position himself to play in the biggest game of his career, a top-25 matchup between the No. 20 Longhorns and the No. 9 Commodores on Saturday in Austin.
Caldwell may need to make his first start at Texas because redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning suffered a concussion in overtime against Mississippi State on Saturday, forcing him into concussion protocol and causing him to miss practice on Monday, leaving Manning’s availability for this week’s game in serious jeopardy.
The Longhorns made the surprise addition of Caldwell from the NCAA transfer portal in early May after the coaching staff exited spring practice uncomfortable with the lack of experience behind Manning.
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In the era of NIL and the transfer portal, it’s more difficult than ever to keep talented backups from leaving, increasing competition for quarterbacks in the portal.
“Everybody was looking everywhere,” Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said on Monday.
Texas evaluated several other quarterbacks before bringing Caldwell in on a visit and landing the Alabama product despite a chance to play at hometown Auburn.
“What I liked about him on his visit — probably the biggest thing — was just his demeanor, his approach to it. It didn’t seem too big for him here. He didn’t feel entitled by any means. He was a guy who just wanted an opportunity,” Sarkisian said.
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Once Caldwell arrived on the Forty Acres in June, three things stood out to Sarkisian — his willingness to be coached, his ability to quickly develop rapport with his teammates, and his ability to quickly learn the offense.
“He carries himself confidently, but not arrogantly. So there’s a lot of things to like about him,” Sarkisian said at the start of preseason camp.
Those attributes quickly made Caldwell the favorite to earn the job as the second-string quarterback behind Manning, a competition eventually won over redshirt freshman Trey Owens and true freshman KJ Lacey, who is now taking second-team reps behind Caldwell as the Troy transfer moved into the first-team role on Monday.
“The good thing for Matt, he’s a very even-keel guy. I thought he had a great practice today,” Sarkisian said. “I think the players have a lot of confidence in him. I think it’s his maturity, his approach —he’s very engaged, even when he doesn’t play. If you’ve ever watched our sidelines in game, 18 is probably the most engaged player on that sideline. He’s always picking guys up, offense, defense, special teams, so he’s got a really good relationship with the guys.”
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When redshirt senior kicker Mason Shipley hit the game-winning field goal in overtime against Kentucky, Caldwell was one of the first players onto the field to congratulate the Texas State transfer.
“He’s in a lot of faces a lot of the times, so it felt very comfortable, felt very normal today,” Sarkisian said.
The 6’4, 212-pounder isn’t just one of the team’s best cheerleaders, though — he’s made plays when he’s had opportunities.
Now 8-of-11 passing for 85 yards and a touchdown on the season, Caldwell has already flashed an ability to fill in for Manning.
In the loss to Florida in The Swamp, Caldwell helped jump start the final drive down eight points. After Manning took a sack and lost his helmet, the Troy transfer entered the game and delivered a strike to sophomore wide receiver Ryan Wingo for 26 yards.
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On Saturday in Starkville, Caldwell played an even bigger role when Manning suffered a concussion on the first play Texas ran in overtime. Facing 2nd and 8 from the Mississippi State 10-yard line, Sarkisian called a run-pass option, but Caldwell got the look he wanted on the outside with sophomore wide receiver Emmett Mosley and audibled into a fade route. As Mosley beat the defender with his outside release, Caldwell lofted pass just within his wide receiver’s reach, and the Longhorns walked it off in overtime after officials overturned the call of an incompletion on the field.
Caldwell also has some athleticism, ripping off a 50-yard run on a zone read against Sam Houston.
“He’s making the most of his opportunities — he’s played well every time that we’ve put him in the game, whether it’s been at the end of games, with the long runs, with the passes, whether it’s been at Florida where he had to come in and throw a ball to Ryan Wingo on an in cut, whether it was this game. What gives me confidence is who he’s been, so feel very comfortable with Matt whenever he’s in the ball game,” Sarkisian said.
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If Caldwell does get the start on Saturday, his extensive college experience and playing in front of 100,000 burnt should ease any anxiety, but one major key will be ball security — last year with the Trojans, Caldwell fumbled seven times and threw eight interceptions at a rate of 3.7 percent on 13 turnover-worthy throws, high numbers that represent his most significant statistical downside.
Only committing one turnover in the last three games has been a key component to the Texas winning streak, especially in the back-to-back overtime wins, so Caldwell would need to lean into a game-manager role to complement the nation’s no. 3 defense in SP+ and a special teams unit that is increasingly impacting winning.
What’s clear is that Caldwell is prepared for the moment and will enter it, if need be, with the reciprocal support of the teammates whose trust he’s earned by investing so heavily in their success.
“They respect the fact that he’s prepared, that he’s ready, and that the moment’s not too big for him,” Sarkisian said. “I think he’s got great rapport with the guys, like I really do. I just think he’s an awesome teammate with these guys, so they enjoy, they enjoy seeing him have that success and celebrating with him.”
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And he got here by playing everyone, man.
