Texas coach Steve Sarkisian wasn’t about to explain how the Longhorns are preparing for Michigan Wolverines quarterback Alex Orji. Or, whoever appears behind the center Saturday in Ann Arbor.

“Dude, I'm not going to tell you how we prepare,” Sarkisian said Monday.

The ninth-ranked Wolverines (1-0) have kept their fans guessing about who would be the starter throughout August. Sarkisian and the Texas defensive coaches have no choice but to prepare for multiple players with different skill sets. The fourth-ranked Longhorns (1-0) have to be ready for anybody.

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The Longhorns shouldn’t worry about 100,000 fans. As the coach says, “the standard is the standard.”

Davis Warren, a junior, got the start last Saturday against Fresno State. The former walk-on completed 15 of 25 passes for 118 yards and threw one touchdown.

Warren has a rather incredible backstory. The Los Angeles native was diagnosed with leukemia in high school and lost 35 pounds. The pandemic almost ruined his chances of being recruited by anyone. Michigan took a chance, welcoming Warren as a walk-on, and he steadily rose up the depth chart.

“Ultimately, he won the job the last week, really,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said, according to ESPN. “He was just consistent, took care of the football, made plays against that defense that you saw out there. They played hard for both (quarterbacks), but he ultimately took the job and won it. That made the decision easier for us.”

Warren told reporters he never wavered about his decision to choose Michigan. “I never had any interest in leaving or going anywhere else,” Warren said after a 30-10 win over Fresno State. ESPN reported that Warren even visited with Finn Kennedy, a 14-year-old born with Down syndrome and diagnosed with leukemia in 2022, before the game.

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“I wanted to be here. And obviously there's been some ups and down in the road, but it did feel really good tonight,” Warren said. “I’ve thought about this day for a long time and envisioned it a lot.”

Still, the Horns are on high alert for Alex Orji, who came into the game and finished the Wolverines’ first touchdown drive. Orji was the fan favorite to be the starting quarterback because of his dual-threat capabilities.

“This guy is a problem because you have to treat him like a runner,” Sarkisian said. “He’s got size. He’s got speed. He can change the math on you quickly when you start adding into the quarterback runs. But yet, the arm talent is there to where he can affect you, especially down the field.”

Orji made the preseason Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list. Everybody loves the backup — until they don’t. But Orji did enough against Alabama and Washington in the postseason last year to make opponents aware.

Sarkisian reminded reporters about how Alabama’s Jalen Milroe made several deep throws against the Texas secondary last season that changed the game. The Horns were actually trailing when the fourth quarter started and wound up winning by 10.

“Clearly, we’ve got to do great stopping the run, and we need to be better at stopping the run than we were a week ago, but we surely don't want to do that at the expense of giving up explosive plays in the past game,” Sarkisian said. “And I think that's that fine line that that we have to walk.”