- Arch Manning stays loyal to Texas despite playing setback: The unexpected reason that motivates him to stay
- Quinn Ewers makes a surprising claim about Arch Manning's future: He can win a lot
One of the quarterbacks who were considered for the first round of the NFL Draft ended up staying in college and a prospect that many thought would transfer because of this ended up staying as well. Quinn Ewers decided to return to the Texas Longhorns and Arch Manning as embraced his QB2 role for now.
Ewers, who was one of the best prospects in history coming out of high school, has two more years of eligibility at the university level and decided to return, despite the fact that the Longhorns have as an interesting substitute in the nephew of one of the greatest legends of the game.
With that said, coaches, former players and university staff respect Arch's decision, as well as the guy one step ahead of him. "I think he understands that what he's got here is he's gonna be the most ready whenever he goes to the NFL," Ewers said to The Athletic. "I think coach Sark (Steve Sarkisian) does the best job getting quarterbacks ready for the NFL and developing guys. (Manning will) be playing in his third year. He'll be more than comfortable in operating the offense, and it's just a really good fit for him."
They have a special competitive bond that number back up
Ewers began his college career at Ohio State in 2021, bringing forward his high school graduation. He left his home state, Texas, because he was not yet 18 years old and could not benefit from Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) income, which the Buckeyes' state did allow.
He did not play as a freshman in Columbus, being behind C.J. Stroud, Kyle McCord and Devin Brown, so he was not stripped of a year of eligibility and returned home to the Texas Longhorns.
He was a starter the last two seasons in Austin, going 6-4 as a starter in 2022 and 10-2 in 2023, winning the Big 12 title for the first time since 2009 and reaching the NCAA semifinals, where they lost at Sugar Bowl against Washington, when he almost led an incredible comeback from a 9-point deficit in the final two minutes, but missed the final four es. Still there is no reason to believe he is not the main guy in Texas, at least for now.