Everyone's Saying the Same Thing About Arch Manning After Cryptic Quinn Ewers Update

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Borba | Last updated Nov 18, 2024 3:20 PM ET

Coming into the 2024 college football season, Texas Longhorns fans envisioned what they would consider a perfect scenario at the quarterback position.

Fresh off of the program's first Big 12 title since 2009 and a College Football Playoff appearance, quarterback Quinn Ewers opted to return for a third year in 2024. While fans were eager to see Arch Manning take over at quarterback, they were just as excited to have Ewers back to make a run at a title and help navigate them through their first SEC season.

Despite the fact that Texas is 9-1 and currently ranked No. 3 in the College Football Playoff, Ewers has struggled down the stretch after returning from an oblique injury. On top of that, head coach Steve Sarkisian made it clear on Monday that they don't know if he'll be playing his final game in Austin on Saturday against the Kentucky Wildcats.

The Texas head coach simply replied, "No idea" when asked about it being Ewers' final home game. This a response that has many fans speculating Ewers may be considering a return but also expressing that Manning would be the starter next season regardless.

"Arch is the guy next year if Ewers doesn't make a drastic improvement. Either Ewers sucks it up and accepts dropping 3 rounds in the draft or he tries to come back only to lose to Arch," wrote one fan.

"Arch knows next year belongs to him," added another.

"Arch will start. Ewers will get late day 3 feedback realize NIL is his best option and transfer," chimed in another.

One fan even speculated that Sarkisian said this to appease Manning. writing, "He’s being nice. This is Quinn’s last year here whether it’s in the NFL or not. He can’t risk losing Arch because this guy still isn’t ready."

While many fans are interpreting this as being about Ewers' plans for the NFL draft, there is a scenario in which Texas gets another home game if they make the College Football Playoff. With the new 12-team playoff, the top four seeds get a bye, while 5-12 will face off in the opening round with the higher seed hosting.

So, if Texas isn't a top-four team and is a higher seed, they would host a home playoff game.

In regards to Ewers, he certainly has a significant career decision to make in the near future. His draft stock taking a hit likely could have him less confident about declaring, but it's not certain that he can return to Texas and start over Manning again.

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

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