It can’t be easy sharing a quarterback room with someone in the Manning family.
Texas starting quarterback Quinn Ewers was the best prospect in the country in the Class of 2021, a rare prospect given a perfect rating by 247Sports. This season, he beat Alabama on the road, helped win Texas’ first Big 12 title since 2009, and led the Longhorns to their first College Football Playoff appearance in the format’s history. He threw for 3,161 yards and 21 touchdowns in just 11 games, and he was one of just 15 FBS quarterbacks to average nine yards an attempt this season.
Despite all of that, however, his backup is five-star freshman Arch Manning, the nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning. Therefore, despite all of Ewers’ success, you get photos like this.
Great photo via AP this morning from Sugar Bowl Media Day.
That's Quinn Ewers, with no reporters talking to him towards the end of Texas' media session, looking back at the scrum surrounding Arch Manning. pic.twitter.com/gVWPgMXJzU
— Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) December 30, 2023
Ewers got asked multiple questions during his time on the stand, and it’s reasonable for media members to ask questions about someone as prominent as Manning, but that’s no normal crowd for a backup quarterback. After all, there probably haven’t been many cases when rumors of a playoff quarterback coming back for one more season meant people wanted to know if his backup would transfer (for the record, Manning affirmed he had no plans to leave Austin even if Ewers stayed).
The Texas starter will get the chance to assert himself into Longhorns lore in the semifinals against Washington on Monday.
Get more Texas coverage at Longhorns Wire.