Arch Madness in Texas: Manning Takes Center Stage for Vaunted Longhorns

By this point, Manning is used to interruptions at dinner — and just about everywhere else. But in 2024, Texas was still Quinn Ewers’ team, and head coach Steve Sarkisian made sure everybody knew it.

Not anymore, though. Archibald Charles Manning, who turned 20 in April, is now QB1 at Texas. He’s done what is arguably the hardest thing any college athlete can do nowadays: He waited for his turn.

“Yeah, it was tough. I mean, it’s tough in this age. But I think, I hope it pays off,” Manning says. “There’s nowhere else I want to be. I want to be at Texas. I got friends here. Love this place. So I want to be the quarterback of the University of Texas. Sometimes it’s worth the wait.”

Longhorns fans have waited for this moment, too. Heck, a lot of them wanted to throw Ewers overboard last season and start the Manning era ASAP. When Ewers missed two-plus games with a strained abdominal injury in September, Manning went off, throwing for eight touchdowns and rushing for two more. That experience gave him a taste of big-time college football and left him wanting more — much more.

“The speed of the game,” Manning says of what he learned. “It’s also a good way for me to play in front of people, in front of 100,000.” All told, Manning threw for 939 yards in 10 games last season with nine touchdowns and two interceptions, completing 67.8% of his throws.

Now that name, image and likeness (NIL) deals allow for players’ names on the backs of jerseys, Manning’s No. 16 has been on fire for two years. “It’s not even close,” one UT marketing official says. “There’s a wide gulf between him and everybody else.”

It wasn’t just that Manning was throwing deep balls and dazzling fans with TikTok-ready touchdown dances. It was how he showed incredible speed, daring and a dash of bravado with a 67-yard madcap romp against UTSA. Oh, Ewers saw it, too. The three-year starter who finished with the third-most passing yards in UT history hustled back into the lineup against Oklahoma despite not being fully healthy.

“It says in the Bible, ‘Iron sharpens iron.’ So it was good for me and him to get to work together,” Ewers said at the NFL Scouting Combine this spring. “I’m glad that he was part of our team, and I’m glad I had to hear about it as well.”

Said Manning, “It’s probably pretty annoying having me as a backup, just with all the media stuff, but he handled it like a champ. He was so good to me along the way.”

Sarkisian probably was annoyed with the offseason second-guessing after he didn’t utilize Manning’s running ability during Texas’ postseason run. Manning came off the bench and scored on a dazzling 15-yard run to ignite a road win against Texas A&M. But when the CFP started, Sarkisian had made up his mind — he was sticking with Ewers.

It made sense. Ewers was the quarterback who suffered a broken collarbone, a busted shoulder, a torn oblique and an ankle injury from 2022-24. Still, he had enough in the tank to lead Texas to the 2023 Big 12 title and its first playoff appearance, a push that landed Sarkisian a contract extension akin to winning the Mega Millions jackpot. You don’t forget that kind of toughness and loyalty.

But Ewers was also rather immobile in the pocket last December, something everyone could see. More Manning, even just a little bit, would have probably kept Ohio State’s defense honest. Instead, the Buckeyes pinned their ears back on four straight plays from the 1-yard line in the Cotton Bowl. Jack Sawyer’s strip sack/fumble recovery/83-yard touchdown run was the final nail in the Buckeyes’ 28-14 semifinal win.

In the CFP, Manning had three rushes for no yards against Clemson in the first round and didn’t play against Arizona State. He picked up eight yards on a fourth-and-1 keeper against Ohio State but appeared to get rocked. The quarterback went to the

sideline and never returned. Speculation quickly turned to whether Manning had suffered a concussion. “Yeah, I mean, that guy hit me pretty hard, but I was fine,” Manning says.

Once the offseason officially began, the transition finally began as well. “This guy’s got charisma,” Sarkisian said of Manning on former Texas QB Colt McCoy’s podcast. “You can feel it. And that’s not a knock against Quinn. Everybody leads differently. But he’s got something about him that guys gravitate to. That’s always a great thing to have as a quarterback.”

Sarkisian is adamant that he hasn’t spoken with Manning’s uncles, Peyton and Eli, about their coverboy nephew. Arch apparently hasn’t leaned on his family members for too much football advice, either. “I think once I got to college, I’m just working with the coaches,” Manning says. “If I go home, I’ll go throw with my dad [Cooper].”

Just like Ewers did, Manning is leaning on UT quarterbacks coach AJ Milwee. Sarkisian also hired former West Virginia head coach Neal Brown as a special assistant. Brown has been working extensively with Manning on leadership. One of the biggest pieces of advice has been for Manning to get to know everybody. Eat breakfast with different teammates every day. Just be yourself. “Take the guys out to eat, stuff like that, just to get more chemistry on the team,” Manning says.

Running back Quintrevion Wisner said from the moment they came in together before the 2023 season, “Arch always had that leader mindset. His leadership role definitely stepped up a bunch this year, but he knows that, and he’s taking full effect on it.”

Here’s where Manning the down-home kid can be Manning the superstar. He can always pick up the tab.

Manning told reporters previously that he “wasn’t allowed” to have NIL until he became the starter, according to a promise he made to grandfather Archie. Nobody knows where some of these NIL values originate, and it should be clear that what you see floating around online are educated guesses. On3 pegged Manning’s NIL “value” around $6.5 million. Whatever the total value is, Manning is certainly ready to cash in.

Manning unveiled a partnership with Red Bull and later filmed a funny ad for Uber featuring Archie, Cooper and himself all riding around Austin in a driverless car. It’s believed that Manning received anywhere from $50,000 to $60,000 for being on the cover of EA Sports’ “College Football 25.” Midway through spring football, he appeared in a social media campaign for Vuori, the athletic apparel company.

Manning could already retire as a rock star if those pesky SEC games didn’t get in the way. Everybody loves the backup — until they don’t. That famous last name only goes so far.

“The boos? Because the boos are going to come here pretty soon, too,” Sarkisian says. “I love our fans. They love the backup quarterback, but they hate interceptions. So those are coming.”

Is Manning ready for boos? “Hell yeah,” he said, quickly adding “sorry” for the language. “I mean, I’ve learned that. You can’t ride the emotional roller coaster. You just gotta stay straight. It’s great when you win. It’s not great when you lose, but you’ve just got to keep that same mindset.”