- NCAA. Ohio State's championship win renews Texas anger about Arch Manning's usage under Steve Sarkisian
- NCAA. Arch Manning's Texas rivals smell blood in the water and give him a smaller margin for success
Quinn Ewers out, Arch Manning in. That is the biggest change fans will see when the Texas Longhorns take the field again in 2025, hoping to end a national championship drought that isn't much older than Manning, the nephew of iconic NFL quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning.
The ing cast around Manning will have significant changes, though. Texas will have a new offensive line in 2025 following the departure of four starters, while receivers Isaiah Bond and Matthew Golden played their final game together during the College Football Playoff semifinal loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. With expectations as high as they have been in Austin since Texas' 2005 championship, Manning will be pressured to bring success to the Longhorns right away.
Manning will have help in the backfield
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was the driving force behind the Longhorns' top-ranked recruiting class for 2025, which will bolster Manning's options as he settles in for two seasons as QB1 in Austin. However, with so much roster turnover, it will be a challenge in the early weeks of the 2025 season, and the quarterback for one of Texas' Playoff rivals has eased ahead of Manning in a preseason ranking.
Arizona State signal-caller Sam Leavitt has been ranked #1 by On3 in the site's "Impact Top 10 QBs in College Football" list, after the redshirt freshman shot to national prominence by helping the Sun Devils to a surprise Big 12 Conference title in 2024. The Sun Devils came up short against Ewers and Texas in the Peach Bowl on New Year's Day, but many analysts believe Leavitt is a dark horse Heisman Trophy candidate in 2025, and ASU should be ranked highly in the preseason AP Top 25 poll.
Working in Manning's favor next season will be Texas' expected strength in depth, and an emphasis on running the football behind a revamped offensive line. Most viewers know that Manning's legs are just as dangerous as his arm -- and NCAA football analyst Joel Klatt has boldly claimed that the Longhorns will be able to run over teams with their "elite" rushing game in 2025.
"I don't think it's going to be quite as big of an issue when your quarterback can run when you've got an elite-level running back," Klatt said. "I don't think it's going to be quite as big of an impact losing some of those offensive linemen as maybe some look at, but I look at this Texas team, and I think that they're going to be fantastic."