Arch Manning’s breakout performance against UTSA has made the celebrity backup and the Texas Longhorns the talk of college football this week.
Already, Paul Finebaum has said Manning would definitely win the Heisman at Texas, Joel Klatt has stated that having two great QBs is a ‘win-win’ for Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and Stephen A. Smith has laughed at the notion of a ‘quarterback controversy.’
Now, former Alabama QB Greg McElroy is talking about Arch in his weekly Takeaways on his ‘Always College Football‘ podcast.
The ESPN college football analyst thinks talk of Arch Manning permanently replacing Quinn Ewers is silly.
“I love what I saw from Arch Manning. I LOVE what I saw from Arch Manning. But there are people right now that are saying Arch Manning should 100% be the starting quarterback over Quinn Ewers. The same Quinn Ewers that went to to Michigan the week before and dominated the Wolverines. The same Quinn Ewers was crazy efficient on third down on the road against a Top 15 team at the time. The same quarterback that went to Tuscaloosa last year and won. The same quarterback that engineered a playoff run last year. Now, because Arch Manning took off and ran for a 67-yard touchdown, he’s the answer. Has to be!” — Greg McElroy
McElroy says fans have an obsession with backup quarterbacks.
“The backup always gonna be better than the starter! Until he isn’t.” — Greg McElroy
McElroy loves what he sees from Manning, but he says Ewers is 100% going to be the starter when he’s healthy.
“Now, I look at it and I thought Arch was fantastic. Had a couple touchdown passes. Had a 51-yard touchdown pass that was on a bubble screen. They had the broken play that resulted in a touchdown pass, the broken defensive play to Ryan Wingo after they bust the coverage. I mean the numbers are outrageous. His first completed passes were amazing. He produced 276 yards on the first nine plays and five scores. But he’s also filling in for a guy that was 14 of 16 with 185 and two touchdowns before he got hurt. Right now, do you realize that Arch Manning was 150-1 to win the Heisman? That was the 33rd shortest odds entering Saturday. Now, he’s at 16-1, which is actually ahead of Quinn Ewers at 18-1. That’s crazy to me. I love Arch Manning and he’s going to be an amazing player, but his time will come. It’s Quinn Ewers’ team for now, for sure, moving forward. ” — Greg McElroy