The Arch Manning hype reached a new high Saturday during the Texas football spring game. The former No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 class impressed, completing 19 of 25 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns. Although it is just a glorified scrimmage, the strong showing by Manning further adds to the anticipation surrounding his eventual first college start — which most likely will not come until 2025.
Returning two-year starter Quinn Ewers is back for the Longhorns and head coach Steve Sarkisian made it clear in February there is no open battle for QB1 in Austin ahead of the 2024 season. The experience of Ewers certainly gives him the edge over Manning, who appeared in just two games as a true freshman last year.
Still, with a performance like Saturday in the spring game, the excitement is getting more difficult to contain.
Manning, the nephew of former NFL quarterbacks Eli Manning and Peyton Manning, arrived on campus at Texas in January 2023 with substantial hype as the top overall recruit in the class. However, some skeptics questioned whether the attention stemmed solely from his family name.
Texas did not rush to get Manning on the field last season, even in garbage-time situations or when Ewers missed two games due to injury. In fact, Manning did not make his debut until the final game of the regular season, taking the snaps for the last two drives in the fourth quarter against Texas Tech. He completed 2 of 5 passes for 30 yards, while rushing three times for seven yards.
Manning also entered late in the Big 12 Championship Game but did not record any stats.
Although Manning is expected to be the backup quarterback for the upcoming 2024 season, it is noteworthy that Ewers missed a total of five starts with a shoulder injury the past two years. If Ewers were to miss games because of injury again this next season, it would move up the anticipated first-career college start for Manning.
Sarkisian spoke highly of Manning earlier this week after practice ahead of the Texas spring game.
“The one thing that Arch did really well today is he did a good job of stepping up in the pocket and keeping his eyes down the field and delivering the ball accurately under duress,” Sarkisian said on Tuesday. “The one thing that I don’t think people give him enough credit for is he’s a really good athlete. He’s big, strong and fast, and sometimes he’ll lean into his legs to create explosive plays and we like that. But we almost want that to be the last resort. I want him to have a real sense of the field in stepping up in the pocket and making these throws and he’s grown.”
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Texas opens the 2024 season against Colorado State on Aug. 31.
