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Greg McElroy Makes Bold Arch Manning Claim
© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns will have a new face under center with Quinn Ewers moving on to the NFL. 

Arch Manning is poised to start for the Longhorns in 2025 after sitting behind Ewers for the last two seasons. On a recent " Always College Football" episode, Greg McElroy predicted the rest of the SEC would look up to Texas. 

Manning has big shoes to fill now that Ewers is gone. Ewers led the Longhorns to the College Football Playoff in 2023 and 2024. Texas was one game shy of reaching the national championship but lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the semifinal 28-14. 

"He's got a lot of good pieces around him," McElroy said. "I really like their wide receiver core. I think they're gonna be really, really good. Legitimate national championship contender and if Arch is as good as we think he's going to be, look out. The rest of the SEC might be looking up at the Texas Longhorns." 

Manning played in 10 games last season with two starts. He threw for 939 passing yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 108 rushing yards and four touchdowns. 

He was the top overall prospect and quarterback in the 2023 class, per the On3 Industry Rankings.

Texas joined the SEC last off-season with the Oklahoma Sooners, and things went quite well. The Longhorns ended the regular season at 11-1 and reached the SEC Championship Game. Texas ultimately lost to the Georgia Bulldogs 22-19 in overtime but was still the No. 5 seed in the playoff. 

If the Longhorns want to reach the playoffs for the third consecutive season, Manning must live up to the hype. 

Texas faces Ohio State in its 2025 season opener on Aug. 30. 

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

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