Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Arch Manning Makes His Thoughts on Quinn Ewers Extremely Clear

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Borba | Last updated Apr 10, 2025 1:20 PM ET

Arguably the biggest quarterback controversy of the past decade in the eyes of college football fans was the situation that Texas had with Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning last season.

Despite Ewers being one of the most experienced and proven quarterbacks in college football, fans and analysts alike were ready for the Longhorns to turn to the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning.

Each glimpse of Manning only led to the chants for him getting louder, yet Steve Sarkisian rode with Ewers until the very end. While Manning has admittedly said it was "tough" to not start, he did credit Ewers on Thursday for helping prepare him for his turn as the starter. He also admitted how difficult it had to be for Ewers to have to deal with him.

"Quinn's been great," Manning said. "I was just with him this past weekend at Hayden Conner's wedding. He's just been so good to me over the past few years. It's probably pretty annoying having me as a backup with all the media stuff. But he handled it like a champ."

With Ewers off to the NFL, Manning has already been named the starter by Sarkisian and will be tasked with attempting to lead Texas to its first title since 2005.

He will be doing so with four new offensive linemen, a new tight end and at least two new receivers. On top of that, the first start of the Manning era will be coming against the defending-champion Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus.

This past season, Manning led Texas to a 2-0 record when he started in place of an injured Ewers. He eventually became so hard to keep off of the field, that Sarkisian used his athleticism in the run game down the stretch.

With that wait for Manning as the starter finally over, college football fans will be absolutely dialed in on Texas in 2025.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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