Will Quinn Ewers play for Texas this week, or will Arch Manning start his first game for the Longhorns?
Texas will once again unleash a new generation of the Manning football family on Saturday, at least just for a week.
Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning will get his first start for Texas against Louisiana-Monroe at home this weekend, according to coach Steve Sarkisian.
Texas starting quarterback Quinn Ewers is day-to-day with an abdominal strain sustained last week against UTSA, leaving Manning the next man up on the depth chart.
Manning erupted in his most significant playing time as a college quarterback so far during that UTSA game, throwing for 223 yards and four touchdowns and scrambling for another 53 yards and a touchdown.
He also saw game action in Texas’ win over Colorado State, throwing for 95 yards and a touchdown and rushing for another touchdown.
Now, top-ranked Texas will try to maintain its strong pace against Louisiana-Monroe at home with Manning under center.
However, Ewers will likely return to the starting lineup once he’s healthy, as Manning isn’t expected to take over the full-time quarterbacking duties until 2025. Ewers is a likely 2025 NFL Draft pick if he declares after the season.
The Longhorns are 3-0 on the season and should contend for a national title, but tougher games Oklahoma (Oct. 12) and Georgia (Oct. 19) await.
Steve Sarkisian plans to insert Quinn Ewers back in the starting role as soon as he is healthy, which could be Week 5 against Mississippi State.
Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers will not suit up on Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe, allowing Arch Manning to make his first career start.
Despite throwing five touchdowns in relief of Ewers in Week 3 against UTSA, don’t expect Manning to fully replace Ewers under center for the Longhorns this season.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel relayed a message from coach Steve Sarkisian on College GameDay Saturday morning, indicating the team has every intention of installing Ewers, who suffered a strain oblique in Week 3, back in the starting role when he is healthy – potentially as soon as next week when the Longhorns host Mississippi State.
Ewers has completed 58 passes for 691 yards and eight touchdowns so far this season, while Manning is 14-of-18 with 318 yards and five touchdowns.
Both quarterbacks look like Heisman Trophy candidates; an incredibly enviable problem for coach Sarkisian and the Longhorns to have.
However, despite tons of media hype around Manning over the past few years, Texas is more than comfortable letting Ewers be the man for this season, as long as he is healthy.
“He made it a point to say ‘we have a national championship team, and Quinn is our quarterback,'” Thamel concluded.
Texas will kick off against Louisiana Monroe at 8:00 PM ET on Saturday on the SEC Network.
If Arch Manning takes over the starting job at Texas, how will this hurt Quinn Ewers draft stock?
Everyone knew Texas quarterback Arch Manning would be good. Most assumed he would eventually be great. But despite the fact he is only a redshirt freshman, he could have a profound impact on the 2025 NFL draft.
An abdominal injury to starting quarterback Quinn Ewers last week against UTSA opened the door for Manning to get a heavy workload. Manning delivered in a big way with a 67-yard rushing touchdown, a 75-yard touchdown pass and three more scores.
Now this week, Manning will get his first college start as the Longhorns prepare to take on the LA-Monroe. More than this week, just two weeks after this game is the Red River Shootout against the University of Oklahoma. If Ewers isn’t 100 percent by then and Manning can beat the Sooners, he might win the starting job outright and leave a healthy Ewers on the bench.
This would mean one of the five best draft-eligible quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL draft is now a backup. What will this mean for his draft stock and how would a benched Ewers impact the rest of a questionable quarterback class? This doesn’t even take into consideration that Manning is the lead man to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft and quarterback-needy teams could pass on a first-rounder in 2025 with questions because of it.
Hoping it is only a one week switch, Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian says Arch Manning will start at QB against UL Monroe.
Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian has announced Arch Manning will start at quarterback against UL Monroe at DKR on Saturday night. Sark says Ewers continues to improve and will rest this week.
Manning replaced Quinn Ewers after a 2nd quarter oblique injury against UTSA and accounted for five touchdowns, which included a 67-yard touchdown run and a 75-yard TD pass to WR Ryan Wingo. This was the first time in Longhorns history a player recorded a run and throw of at least 65 yards in the same game. Only Colt McCoy and Vince Young had done it in the same season for Texas, according to ESPN.
“Arch is more than capable, as I think we all know. I mean, you go out and you have five touchdowns coming in off the bench, you’ve already proved you can play. Now, it’s about executing the plan, doing it with confidence and fixing some of the issues on the field when they arise.” — Steve Sarkisian
Sark says Ewers will continue treatment for his strained oblique and will be on the sideline supporting Manning and the rest of the team.
“Quinn has made great strides ever since Saturday night into where he’s gotten to. But my decision is I’m looking forward to his future as a player, but also the future of the season for us. … And getting him possibly one more week healthier for the long term, I think, is good for us as we’re getting ready for SEC play. Quinn will obviously have an earpiece in. He’ll hear every play call. Without question, his support of Arch is critical, and I don’t foresee anything different than that.” — Steve Sarkisian
It sounds like the plan is for Ewers to only miss this weekend’s game. The Texas coach has told Ewers that a week off doesn’t change anything as far as who the Longhorns permanent starting quarterback will be.
“All the goals [Ewers] had and that we’ve had for him coming into this season are all still there for him. I think we have a national championship-caliber team, and he’s the quarterback of that team. And I think we still have that in front of us to go do that. … This guy’s going to be in New York for the Heisman … and I think he has the ability to be a top-five NFL draft pick.” — Steve Sarkisian.
Sarkisian says it will be different for Manning operating the game plan from the opening series rather than just being thrown into the game.
The college football world is speculating whether Arch Manning will usurp Quinn Ewers. ESPN’s Pat McAfee says the talk isn’t going away.
Quinn Ewers or Arch Manning? The Texas Longhorns quarterback ‘controversy’ isn’t going away anytime soon according to ESPN’s Pat McAfee.
Since Arch Manning stepped in for an injured Quinn Ewers against UTSA, the college football world has been talking about almost nothing else. Some major analysts say there isn’t a controversy.
“Quinn Ewers was the Heisman favorite there for a while. Quinn Ewers back healthy. Quinn Ewers ballin’. Quinn Ewers potentially the first quarterback off the board going into the NFL this year. So good. But there’s another quarterback on that team that has the last name of Manning and if he’s going to go for five touchdowns every week, which is certainly possible. That is going to be a loud talking point whether they like it or not. That is something Sark is going to have to navigate obviously.” — Pat McAfee
McAfee says Manning has been agreeable to his situation as Ewers backup. But Arch is a Manning after all.
“The Mannings will be completely cool with it all because they’ve agreed to everything that’s happening, even tough Arch is making the decisions. He wanted to go to Texas. Didn’t mind sitting and waiting. Didn’t mind having a college experience. Didn’t mind being a normal human and a normal teammate. But then he gets on the field and he goes bananas. He’s the fastest guy on the field. He’s been going to the Manning passing academy since he was like 8-years-old. I heard some people say, ‘Would we even be talking about this if his last name wasn’t Manning?’ No! That’s why we’re talking about it.” — Pat McAfee
Is all of the chatter good or bad for the team? One one hand the Longhorns are the talk of college football. On the other, it could disrupt the chemistry to throw the team off balance.
But is there a quarterback controversy? College football experts and pundits have been debating that fact all week. While it doesn’t seem like Texas coach Steve Sarkisian would start Manning over Ewers if both are healthy, some say he’ll have little choice.
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
Klatt said one of the reasons he thinks Texas is such an elite team is the Longhorns depth. Part of of that depth is at QB.
“Some of that was an assumption. We think that Arch Manning is going to be good, and a lot of that has to do with his last name. But this was really the first time we got to see it. See him have the entire offense at his disposal. See him run the offense with Sark being Uber aggressive calling plays. See him being able to run on the edge. I tell you what, all that did for me was solidify the fact that Texas is one of the best teams in the country.” — Joel Klatt
Klatt went more in depth in his thoughts about Texas’ wealth at the quarterback position.
“Oh yeah, they’re going to be just fine. In fact, you could probably make an argument that Manning might be even more talented than Ewers, even though Ewers clearly has the experience edge over Manning. So you could make an argument that they’re not going to miss a beat. Even if their starting quarterback goes down. And that’s a quarterback that I still believe is going to wind up in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.” — Joel Klatt
One that that really impressed Klatt was Manning’s speed, which we’ve seen glimpses of, but not to the level we did against UTSA.
“What we saw from Manning, particularly running the football, was something I didn’t think he had in him. That was something pretty special. That long run was the longest touchdown run by a quarterback since Vince Young. That’s saying something, because Colt McCoy was damn good. … If you’re running over 20.5 miles per hour, hitting 21 miles per hour, some guys that are really fast can hit 22, 22.5 maybe even close to 23. Arch basically hit 21 miles per hour on his touchdown run. That blows my mind. Blows my mind! That’s like fast, fast. Not just regular ‘oh yeah, he can run.’ That’s fast, fast.” — Joel Klatt
The Fox analyst things this is a great situation for Texas coach Steve Sarkisian.
“Sark has to think, ‘I’m good.’ … Sark doesn’t have to rush Ewers back. He can make sure he’s completely healthy. … They’ve got all this time to get him back for Red River then they’ve got Georgia the following week.” — Joel Klatt
So is there a QB controversy? Klatt doesn’t think there is any controversy.
“I don’t believe this is a quarterback controversy, but I do believe this is where people are going to go. Particularly, from a narrative standpoint. And in particular there. Because, let’s face it, a lot of people around Texas love to have an opinion. I’m glad, in this case, that Sark is unwavered by people’s opinion about him or his program. … If Quinn isn’t effective, he’s got a legitimate option. This is a win-win situation for Steve Sarkisian.” — Joel Klatt
Status of Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers oblique injury updated by head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian gave an update on injured Junior QB Quinn Ewers today in his weekly press conference.
Sarkisian meets the press each Monday and typically looks back at the game just played and forward to the game coming up.
Ewers left Saturday night’s game against the UTSA Roadrunners with an apparent abdominal injury, later clarified as an oblique strain.
On Texas’ fourth offensive drive, after a 49-yard pass to TE Gunnar Helm, the Longhorns QB seemed to be in a lot of pain and was holding his lower rib cage/abdomen.
Ewers left the game and headed to the medical tent for about 15 minutes before leaving for the locker room with a towel over his head. He emerged a few minutes later in street clothes to join his teammates on the sideline.
Before leaving, Sark says Ewers was playing well.
“I thought Quinn, prior to the injury, was having a really good football game. I think he was 14 of 16, which is very efficient. He was playing at a high level.” — Steve Sarkisian
Breaking: Texas QB Quinn Ewers' ab injury isn’t as serious as initially feared.
He’s likely to miss the Louisiana Monroe game this week, but is “week to week” after leaving the UTSA game with what Steve Sarkisian termed an abdominal strain, sources tell @PeteThamel. pic.twitter.com/JbBWZZ5pbX
Going forward, the Southlake Carroll product is listed as ‘questionale.’
“It was a non-contact deal, which we touched on. The oblique strain there. Next week when you guys get your injury report, on next Wednesday, that officially begins, he would be listed as questionable. We’re going to monitor him day to day and see what this looks like. But he would be questionable for Saturday on the report.” — Steve Sarkisian
Arch Manning scored early and often, accounting for five touchdowns after entering UTSA game for an hurt Quinn Ewers.
He’s the most famous backup quarterback in college football. But until Saturday night, Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning was more famous for his family name than his play on the football field. That started to change after a dominant performance in relief of Quinn Ewers.
After Robert Henry’s 53-yard TD, the Texas offense took over on its own 25-yard-line. After a Quintrevion Wisner’s 8-yard run, Manning electrified the crowd with a 67-yard TD run off of a zone read. Fitting since it was the longest TD run by a QB since Vince Young.
Before the half, Manning hit Isaiah Bond on a 51-yard catch and run touchdown to build a 28-7 lead at the break. Arch then hit freshman Ryan Wingo on a 75-yard bomb in the third quarter and Johntay Cook II in the fourth on a 12-yard score. Manning then gave way to third string QB Trey Owens. Manning was complimentary of his team after the game.
“It helps when you have great players around you and good coaches. Isaiah Bond, Ryan Wingo, the O-line, they all played really well. They make it a little bit easier for me. Obviously there’s a lot to improve on and grow from, but I’m glad I got to get in there and get hit again and feel what it’s like.” — Arch Manning
From @ESPNStatsInfo: Texas QB Arch Manning is the third SEC player in the last 20 years with a 65-yard pass TD and a 65-yard rush TD in a game. The other two? Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel in 2012 and Florida's Anthony Richardson in 2021.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said after the game the staff will have to determine the severity of Ewers injury, but nothing seems broken.
“I think Quinn’s in pretty good spirits. I talked to him on the sidelines there. He was playing such good football. My hope is this isn’t a long-term thing, that we’ll get him back, because we need as many healthy good players as we can get for this journey that we’re on right now. Because Quinn’s been through it and I think because those other injuries he got with the shoulder were so structural and they were contact-type injuries, I think he’s probably in a little better spirits. We’ve got to do everything on our part to get him as healthy as we can as quickly as possible.” — Steve Sarkisian
With UL Monroe coming to Austin next weekend, it is a good bet Arch Manning will get his first start as a Longhorn on Saturday.