Texas’ newest quarterback Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers are both deadlocked in a quarterback battle that Steve Sarkisian says might last all spring
AUSTIN, Texas– In case you thought the Longhorns quarterback was set, news flash it’s not. And just from Day 1 of spring practice in Austin, it’s shaping up to be one of the most heated quarterback battles this offseason.
In one corner is Quinn Ewers, a five-star recruit from Southlake Carroll who transferred in from Ohio State after just one year of sitting behind Justin Fields. In the other is newly minted QB Arch Manning, who like Ewers possesses a blue chip ranking by nearly every high school media outlet there is. The lineage of the prestigious quarterback family that has grazed the names of Arch, Peyton, and Eli, Arch Manning has hall-of-fame in his blood and will look to take on Ewers for the Longhorns starting role this spring.
Ewers started for the Texas Longhorns this past year in 2022, leading them to a 6-4 record in his presence as their QB1. Ewers passed for 2,477 yards in 10 games played and impressed pundits and the Texas crowd with a seemingly magical ability to make plays. Ewers transferred in from Ohio State after being ranked the number one quarterback in 2021, playing for in-state high school Southlake Carroll. Ewers was named 2022 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and closed out the season with an impressive performance against Washington in the Alamo Bowl.
Yet, Ewers couldn’t seem to do enough. He showed flashes of why he never took the reins at Ohio State and that he was still young. Six interceptions through 10 games played along with abnormally low passing numbers for the span of games he participated in drew concerns about Texas’ future, especially with their transition to the SEC looming. Yet, he still carries with him the five-star rank along with being the second overall player in the country back in 2021, a sign that the Longhorns aren’t ready to move on from him just yet.
Manning on the other hand has just as much playing power as Ewers, being the fifth-ranked player in the nation this year as well as being the descendant of all-powerful football family in the Mannings. Arch’s uncles– Peyton and Eli are both Super Bowl winning quarterbacks with four Lombardis between the two of them. It only makes sense that Arch is an rendition of them. Arch played football for Newman High School in Louisiana, and committed to Texas after a plethora of visits to Austin.
Sarkisian mentioned to reporters that every starting position was up for grabs, quarterbacks included. He acknowledged that Ewers has a head start with a year but you can’t rule out Manning’s abilities to leapfrog him for the role.
“I’m not worried about who’s going to be on the cover of what magazine next week,” Sarkisian told reporters after practice. “I’m more focused on is, is each guy focusing on what they need to do to develop to be the best player that they can be? Quinn has an entire year of a head start, but I don’t want to hold Arch back. I want to see how far he can take this thing and what it can look like.”
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Head coach Steve Sarkisian made it his prerogative to siphon Manning’s talents to the Lone Star State after expressing doubts about the future of the passing game, saying that it still has a lot to improve. Manning made some mistakes on his first day, as expected– but Steve Sarkisian has said that Manning should still be treated like a freshman as he’s still young.
“For Arch today, Day 1, there’s some plays for sure that he would love to have back,” Sarkisian said. “There’s some other plays that he made where I think everybody was like, ‘Wow, that was a heck of a play.’ But he brings a worker’s mentality and he wants to be really good at this game.”
Feast or famine for Manning maybe, but Ewers as the incumbent must be on his A-game in order to shake the woes of Arch Manning winning the role. As soon as Manning tweeted his commitment (which as over 200 million likes), Ewers had a Texas-sized target on his back that he probably won’t be able to shake until either one of them splits. Ewers has now been to two high-profile Power-Five programs, and must show constant improvement if he’s to stay ahead of Manning in this tightrope act.
The climb for Manning will be uphill, no doubt. His star-studded family tree is of no help here, especially when you look at what Ewers has already proven on the field. His ball placement at times has been impeccable, showing real connection with what receivers the Longhorns have. His mobility is also something that gives the Texas offense life and a two-way go, something Manning has yet to prove.
This offseason, head coach Steve Sarkisian mentioned that Ewers has embraced his role as a de facto leader, becoming more vocal in the locker room and on the field.
“I think what he’s done, he’s serving for Arch and, ‘Hey, this is what it looks like,'” Sarkisian said. “‘And this is how to go about your business.'”
Arch Manning has somewhat of an uphill battle. As expected. The 17-year old is still supposed to be in high school, however took a year off in order to play spring ball in Austin. He’s had his fair share of freshman moments, including losing his UT student ID card twice (with the aftermath being posted on social media by students).
At the end of the day, Manning’s noise and rah-rah around him probably won’t make much of an impact on Sarkisian’s decision. The head coach has always been a do-it-by-the-book type coach and he’s not one to fall into publicity traps. Manning still has a lot to prove, with Ewers showing improvement throughout last year– it’d be semantical to think anything would change.
