Legendary coach not buying the Arch Manning hype

Arch Manning is widely viewed as a future No. 1 overall pick despite having shown very little at the collegiate level, and one legendary coach does not seem to be buying the hype.

Former Florida and South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier shared some of his thoughts on Manning during an appearance on the latest episode of the “Another Dooley Noted” podcast, which was released on Monday. The 80-year-old questioned why Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian would play Quinn Ewers over Manning for two years if Arch is such a generational talent.

“Most people are picking Texas to win the SEC in football,” Spurrier said, as transcribed by Joe Cook of On3. “They’ve got Arch Manning already winning the Heisman, too. My question is, if he was this good how come they let Quinn Ewers play all the time last year? He was a seventh-round pick?”

Ewers was a Heisman Trophy candidate who led the Longhorns to the College Football Playoff semifinal each of the last two seasons. Sarkisian obviously felt that Ewers’ experience and previous success made him a better option for Texas, and it is hard to argue with the results.

“You only have to ask Coach Sark how come you played that one instead of this one,” Spurrier added. “Hopefully he’ll say, ‘Because we thought he was better than that one.’ Isn’t that why you play one guy and not the other? Unless it was discipline, and there was no discipline or anything.”

Manning played sparingly enough as a freshman two years ago to maintain redshirt eligibility. He then got some playing time last season when Ewers was injured. Manning completed 67.8% of his passes for 939 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 108 yards and four touchdowns.

Manning gave a great reason for why he stuck with Texas when he could have easily signed a huge NIL deal to transfer to a new school.

Spurrier, who won a national championship at Florida in 1996, is known for saying things that others probably would not. If Manning is as good as many expect him to be this season, Spurrier is right that some will question whether Arch should have played sooner.