Arch Manning knows how to make a statement.

The Texas quarterback’s first throw Saturday during the Longhorns’ Orange and White spring game was a 75-yard touchdown throw to sophomore DeAndre Moore.

Facing 1st-and-10 from the 25, Manning stepped up and took advantage of a miscommunication in the secondary. His team was down 14-0 before Manning came in and threw the bomb.

Manning followed up his first touchdown with another strike to running back Jaydon Blue for a score.

He hit on 5-for-5 for 133 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Starting quarterback Quinn Ewers just one series.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said he wanted to get Manning and true freshman Trey Owens most of the reps.

The grandson of one former NFL quarterback and nephew of two Super Bowl-winning ones, Manning is biding his time behind Ewers with more patience than some might have expected in the open-transfer era.

Manning, too, had said he would be in no rush to develop into the best quarterback he can be. And has already enjoyed the benefit of one transfer that helped thin the lineup behind Ewers.

Last season’s No. 2, Maalik Murphy, started two games when Ewers was injured and won both, but then transferred to Duke. That immediately elevated Manning as the top backup, and opened the door to him getting valuable reps in practice and likely expansive playing time in Saturday’s scrimmage.

But make no mistake: this spring was not an open competition at quarterback. Ewers is the No. 1. And barring something unusual happening, he will be when Texas opens the season Aug. 31 against Colorado State.

“Quinn’s our starter,” for 2024, Sarkisian said when spring drills began.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.