Former Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers is now in the NFL after being drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the 2025 NFL Draft.
This leaves the door open for Arch Manning to start for the Longhorns in 2025. Ahead of the 2025 season, Joel Klatt released his quarterback rankings on a recent edition of "The Joel Klatt Show."
Manning came in at No. 2, with Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik at No. 1. Manning and Klubnik were the top quarterbacks in their respective classes, via the On3 Industry Rankings.
The Texas gunslinger was from the 2023 class, while Clemson's star quarterback hailed from the 2022 class.
Ewers was the starter for Texas in 2024, with Manning in a backup role. He came in after Ewers aggravated an oblique injury against UTSA. Ewers initially suffered the injury in Week 2 versus the Michigan Wolverines.
He finished out the game after Ewers' exit and threw for 223 passing yards, 53 rushing yards and five total touchdowns. Manning then started the next two games against UL Monroe and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
The Longhorns won both, with Manning throwing for a combined 583 passing yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.
This is not the first time Klatt has ranked Manning second on a list. Klatt released his 2026 NFL Draft rankings and had Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs ranked above the Texas quarterback.
On3 Sports released their own ranking, placing Manning at No. 10 in their top 100 college football players list for the 2025 season.
Manning and Texas face a tough foe to start 2025, taking on Ohio State. Ohio State ended Texas' season in the College Football Playoff semifinal 28-14.
Texas and Ohio State kick off on Aug. 30.
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ESPN analyst and color commentator Greg McElroy has provided an interesting comment regarding the Florida State football team and its College Football Playoff (CFP) hopes headed into 2025. McElroy appears to have the steadfast belief that the Seminoles will be within striking distance of reaching the 12-team playoff despite going 2-10 last season. He enlisted this idea on his "Always College Football" podcast, which was released recently. “As long as Florida State plays football, I still believe it is within reason that they can get back into the mix of the College Football Playoff conversation,” McElroy shared. “Now, it’s going to look a little different. New quarterback coming in from Thomas Castellanos." After praising the aforementioned Castellanos and the potential of the FSU offense, McElroy gave love to the defensive side of the ball under new coordinator, Tony White. “Defensively, new defensive coordinator, new scheme, new system, but they do have some pieces that you could absolutely build around,” McElroy said. “You look at kind of everything along Florida State, they’re poised for a massive bounce-back from the 2-10 season.” Finally, McElroy provided his opinion that the ultimate litmus test for the Seminoles will be the Week 1 matchup against Alabama. He believes how FSU looks, win or lose, will determine the outlook for the season ahead. “Week 1 will tell us all we need to know about what Florida State might be able to accomplish,” McElroy said. “If they can go toe-to-toe in Tallahassee with, a team that I have great admiration for this season, that might be a sign of things to come for what could be a team that bounces back in a huge way. Goes from the outhouse back to the penthouse here in 2025.” The 'Noles will kick off the 2025 campaign against the Crimson Tide on Aug. 30 at 3:30 p.m. ET in Tallahassee.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers only officially joined the Pittsburgh Steelers shortly before their three-day mandatory minicamp in June and, thus, is still learning about his new teammates in the early days of training camp. Rodgers is also using summer practices as a way to introduce himself to members of the Steelers' defense. During a Wednesday appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Steelers star pass-rusher T.J. Watt detailed what it's been like to go against a Rodgers-led offense on the practice field. "Frustrating, because he talks a lot of smack," Watt said about Rodgers, as shared by Eva Geitheim of Sports Illustrated. "He really does. A lot of the no-look passes are things that we're getting used to. I like to bat down a lot of passes at the line of scrimmage. He's able to manipulate the defense good, so that's been very frustrating. Hopefully, one day we get the better of him." Steelers reporter Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently gushed over the arm talent Rodgers flashed during his first handful of training camp practices with the club. This past Tuesday, Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Arthur Smith mentioned that Rodgers' "release and how he generates power" is still "unbelievable" even though the future Hall of Famer will turn 42 years old this coming December. Multiple injury issues slowed Rodgers last fall when he was with the New York Jets. Current Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams was Rodgers' teammate last season and is convinced the veteran signal-caller can still be among the top half of the quarterbacks in the NFL if he's able to stay healthy through a grueling campaign. "His cadence is deadly," longtime Steelers defensive lineman and team captain Cameron Heyward added about Rodgers during the show segment. "The thing he does best is he knows how to abuse the play clock. It's ridiculous, but it's gonna make us better." It remains to be seen if Rodgers will take even a handful of snaps in Pittsburgh's preseason opener at the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 9. History shows he could give Steelers fans a highlight-reel moment or two if he participates in that exhibition contest.
The New York Yankees have continued to fortify their bullpen, acquiring right-handed reliever Jake Bird from the Colorado Rockies, per YES Network's Jack Curry. This trade marks the second recent deal between the Yankees and Rockies, following New York’s July 25 trade for infielder Ryan McMahon. In return, Colorado receives a pair of New York's prospects, second baseman Roc Riggio (No. 10 in the Yankees' system) and left-handed pitcher Ben Shields (No. 28). Both players advanced through the Yankees’ system this season, rising from rookie ball to Double-A. Bird, 29, has posted a 4.73 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings this season. With team control through 2028, Bird represents a long-term asset for New York rather than a short-term rental. Unlike most power arms in the Yankees' bullpen, Bird relies on finesse. His repertoire centers around an 84 mph sweeper — his most used pitch, thrown 39.5% of the time — complemented by an 80.5 mph changeup and a 94.4 mph sinker. Bird will join a revamped bullpen that now includes David Bednar, acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates less than an hour prior to the Bird transaction.
With things moving quickly at the trade deadline, a potential target for the Chicago Cubs has come off the board. The Cubs have done a nice job so far of improving their pitching staff, but there have been some notable relievers who have moved so far. While Chicago has already added Andrew Kittredge, he is more of a middle reliever than a potential eighth or ninth inning pitcher. Adding an impact arm like Jhoan Duran or Ryan Helsley would have been ideal yesterday, but they have also now reportedly missed out on David Bednar. According to Jeff Passan, the talented right-hander from the Pittsburgh Pirates is going to be heading to the New York Yankees. After Duran and Helsley came off the board, Bednar was the next best option, and it was the Yankees who won the bidding war. So far this year, he has totaled a 2.37 ERA and 17 saves in 42 appearances. Due to the struggles of the Pirates, there haven’t been a ton of save opportunities for Bednar, but he has no doubt been one of the best closers in baseball this campaign. This would have been the type of impact addition that many are expecting Chicago to make before the deadline. However, with the former All-Star off the board, there aren’t many closers left that can help the Cubs. With that being said, it will be interesting to see if Chicago looks to get more in the starting pitcher market to improve the team in that area, rather than the bullpen. The Latest Chicago Cubs News Cubs Refusing To Include Top Prospect In Talks Ahead of MLB Trade Deadline Long-Rumored Cubs Bullpen Trade Target Gets Shipped To Tigers Cubs Among Teams Still Attempting To Acquire Nationals Pitcher Cubs Reveal Special Ryne Sandberg Tribute Jerseys To Be Worn Saturday
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