While he likely will not be needed in 2023, Texas freshman Arch Manning is still expected to push Maalik Murphy for the backup quarterback role.
The two are positioning themselves to be the guy after the guy, and on Saturday during Texas’ scrimmage Manning showed out. According to On3’s Gerry Hamilton, Manning showcased an ability his two uncles weren’t known for: his rushing ability.
“Texas’ first scrimmage of the fall here today and Arch Manning, he got loose,” Hamilton said “He scored on a 50-plus yard touchdown run. I mean we’ve heard different numbers on how far that touchdown run was, but yea, he scored from 50-plus yards out. And he continues a strong fall camp.”
In the same video, Hamilton also explained how Steve Sarkisian has been impressed with Manning’s ability to distribute the ball to various pass catchers.
The one thing with Arch is Steve Sarkisian is talking about spreading the football around, right? And we keep hearing that Arch is really ahead of the game in that regard,” Hamilton said. “And look, he’s a Manning, we expect him to be. But yea, Arch Manning had a really big moment for a young kid in the scrimmage today.”
Even with all of the bright moments from Manning, he still isn’t going to snatch the starting job from Ewers despite what some might believe. He may just be in a position to surpass Murphy as the second string quarterback. Something that Bobby Burton explained, as we all know some people will read about Manning’s showing and assume it’s his time to start.
“The reality of it is that Arch is ahead of schedule, and at the same time he’s still a freshman,” Burton said. “So let’s not talk about him overtaking Quinn Ewers or anything like that. There might be a battle for the No. 2 job. I’m not disputing that. But the No. 1 job is Quinn Ewers.”
While it’s never planned or ideal, there is a chance that Manning or Murphy may need to play at some point as last season Ewers missed a few games with an injury. On the bright side for Texas, it hasn’t had a quarterback room with this much depth in over a decade.