DALLAS — Arch Manning to Texas was always going to be complicated.
Being a quarterback and a Manning assured it. It was news two years ago when ESPN dropped Archie’s grandson and Peyton’s nephew from the No. 1 overall to — gasp! — No. 2.
Then it got weird. One national recruiting expert said if Arch’s last name wasn’t Manning he’d be a three-star prospect. 247Sports, by the way, held firm and ranked Manning No. 1 overall in a 2023 Class glittering with QB star power.
Texas landed him but heading into Manning’s redshirt freshman season by and large coach Steve Sarkisian hasn’t played him. That was no surprise. All parties knew that could be the case. Quinn Ewers was the starter in 2023. The surprise? Perhaps that Ewers chose to come back for a third season at Texas after evaluating his draft position. There may have been a point when Manning committed to Texas that all parties figured Ewers, a former No. 1 recruit himself, would go pro after the 2023 season, but Ewers made the smarter decision for himself.
“There’s kind of a line of demarcation for guys who really have success in the league,” Ewers said this week at SEC Media Days. “A line at 25 [college] starts where guys really had a jump in where their career went.”
Makes sense. Ewers has 22 career starts. Aaron Rodgers had exactly 25 at Cal.
Manning, though, still has none and that’s fascinating for the player, the family and the team. Arch and his tremendous family support circle had to know this too was a possibility at Texas: Arch would essentially sit out to two years before becoming the starter.
The 800-pound gorilla in the room at media days was also a 220-pound backup who actually wasn’t in the room. Manning was back home in Austin dutifully waiting for his chance.
The player has already voiced his frustration. It came out last December before the playoff game with Washington, ironically, when Manning had been moved up to No. 2 behind Ewers following the transfer of backup Maalik Murphy.
“There were a lot of tough days, I’m not going to lie,” he told reporters. “I was never a backup in high school, so there are some days when you graduate early and you’re alone in your dorm room. You’re like, it’s just another day of fighting for a third-string job. My family, they’re supporting me. Coaches are pushing me. I’m glad I had this year to develop, learn, and grow as a person and a player.”
There have plenty of quarterbacks who sat for two years and waited their turn. LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Georgia’s Carson Beck come to mind recently. Heck, Barry Sanders backed up Thurman Thomas his first two years at Oklahoma State.
But Arch is different because he is a five-star Manning who knew this was always a possibility but is now becoming a reality. Six hundred days after playing his last high school game, he has thrown five college passes for 30 yards (and chipped in a monster of a spring game).
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. No matter what happens, Manning is learning under Steve Sarkisian, a known quarterback-maker.
“Historically for us, part of your recruiting is your track record,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve been fortunate to coach some pretty good quarterbacks. We’ve been fortunate to do it for some decades now. We’ve been fortunate to have some really good quarterback rooms, and I think the Manning family is pretty well aware of that.”
Only a handful of quarterbacks have started only one year in college and been drafted in the first round. Between 2000-2020, there were only five — Cam Newton, Mark Sanchez, Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins and Mitchell Trubisky.
“I don’t think Arch will be a one-and-done,” said noted Southern California-based quarterback coach Steve Clarkson. “I don’t know the family [but] he doesn’t need to go for the money. For the family it’s going to the whole experience. How does the draft set up? They’re going to try to maneuver where they can play.”
Clarkson trained Ewers at his Dreammaker quarterback camp when the high school senior was still sporting his famous mullet. Ewers cut it last year, bulked up and had a career year.
“I believe Arch is going to play two [years as a starter in 2025 and 2026] no matter what,” Clarkson added. “If they [family] wanted hm to get to the league fast they wouldn’t have sent him to Texas. They’re playing the long game.”
Ask any Texas fan and they’ll tell you they’d be over the moon if they got three starting seasons of Ewers and two from Manning out of this ridiculously talented lineage.
Sarkisian threw another log onto the speculative fire when he told ESPN this week, “we’re probably going to need both guys at this point.”
That could be code for Sark intending to get Manning some reps just to keep him happy. At least against inferior opponents. But that would be impacting Ewers who comes into the season as a Heisman candidate and it’s a decent risk as Texas has just one other scholarship quarterback on the roster, freshman Trey Owens.
The move also might be inevitable. Ewers has been injured at times in each of his two seasons as Texas starter. Last year he missed two games with a shoulder injury. Murphy filled in.
“For sure I think that’s tough for anybody especially at such a high level that he was recruited [at] …,” Ewers said. “That goes to show how mature that he is and how much support he has with his family. He really wants to play for this team. He really wants to play for Coach Sark.”
Kelvin Banks Jr., the star offensive tackle who will be protecting both quarterbacks, said Manning could start for 133 other teams. Also …
“I feel like Arch has earned it but … at same thing you have to learn,” Banks said. “When I was playing as a freshman I was still in the learning process.”
Missouri quarterback Brady Cook roomed with Arch earlier this month at the Manning Passing Academy, the prestigious offseason camp. Cook also sat out his first two years at Mizzou before becoming a breakout star in 2023.
“That was definitely hard,” Cook said. “It was the first time in my life that I’ve ever not played on my team. I’ve always been the starting quarterback whether it’s grade school, middle school, high school …
“We had some great conversations. I love how he has handled things. He’s a smart dude, he’s a good dude. He’s learning so much from Quinn … His mentors, we don’t even have to go through that list.”
Manning’s signature “game” is the spring game when he threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns. Appetites have been whetted.
Meanwhile, to date, his signature moment is his recent EA Sports College Football 25 commercial with Uncle Eli, one of those mentors.
Arch at first opted out of participating in the game. He is a Manning after all. Football royalty. But check out the game play in the ad. There’s a subtle, fitting message in it.
It looks a lot like the five-star backup quarterback anxious to get on the field … is playing in practice mode.
MORE: Quinn Ewers on if 2024 will be his final season at Texas
