National college football analyst offers bold take on Quinn Ewers' job security at Texas

Texas Longhorns redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning will enter the 2024 season as the backup to starter Quinn Ewers. 

Despite Manning's famous last name and his impressive spring game performance last month, there is no quarterback controversy at Texas. It's Ewers' team and no one in Austin is suggesting otherwise. 

Longtime college football analyst/recruiting expert Mike Farrell, however, thinks it's a "fact" that Ewers could lose his job to Manning this fall. 

From MikeFarrellSports.com: The key word here is “could”, so relax. I wasn’t as high on Arch Manning as others coming out of high school, and I still think he’s solid but not spectacular, but let’s be real — if Ewers struggles or gets injured and has to miss a game or so, he might lose his job for good. It’s interesting as Ewers could have a season where he becomes the No. 1 overall pick or could have a season where he’s looking for a new home.

That's probably fair from Farrell. It wouldn't be a massive surprise if Ewers, in the event of an injury, is replaced by Manning and then Manning shines. 

We've seen that happen plenty of times in quarterback battles over the years. 

The only problem I have with Farrell's take is his slight "jab" at Manning. The "solid but not spectacular" comment is a bit premature. We've barely seen Manning play. And during the one extended look we received of Manning -- during the Longhorns' spring game -- he looked absolutely fantastic.

Suggesting that Manning isn't "spectacular" before he's even received a chance to start isn't just misguided, it's foolish. I'm not sure how it's even possible to have that takeaway with Manning having just five regular season pass attempts on his résumé. 

Ultimately, though, all eyes will be on Arch this fall -- even if Ewers starts every game for the Longhorns. It's been a long time since we've seen a player in college football with the type of hype that Manning is receiving. And we'll soon see (maybe in 2024, but in 2025 for sure) if he's deserving of that hype.