Jan 1, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up before the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Why Steve Spurrier is Wrong on Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Harrison Reno | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 10:30 AM ET

Despite leaving Texas as the winningest quarterback the Longhorns have had in over a decade, there are still those who question why Quinn Ewers was even the starting signal-caller in the first place. Many of those questions came from fans, who were anxious to see former five-star prospect Arch Manning take over the reins of the Texas offense.

However, there are even those in the media who question whether Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian picked the man at quarterback. One of those is former Florida and South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier, who, during a recent edition of the "Another Dooley Noted Podcast," used that question as a reason to question the Longhorns' legitimacy in contending for the national title in 2025.

"Most people (are) picking Texas to win the SEC (this year)," Spurrier said. "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? And he was a 7th-round pick.

"You only have to ask Coach Sark how come you played that one instead of this one. Hopefully, he will say, because he was better than that one."

The take from Spurrier that the seventh-round draft selection of Ewers makes Manning his backup as a potential bad sign is nothing new. Since the long wait that Ewers endured during the NFL Draft, it has been a talking point among many critics of the Longhorns.

That is, even though judging a college player's success or trying to predict another player's success by the round that the player ahead of him gets picked is absurd. The college and pro games are not the same.

Especially at the quarterback position, where many of even college football's best have not experienced the same success on Sundays. Who would have thought that coming out of the 2022 NFL Draft that Brock Purdy would be the most successful quarterback taken in that class?

In the 2021 draft class, Zach Wilson was one of the signal-callers taken in the first round. Before he went on to become a Day 1 selection out of BYU, he sat behind Jaren Hall, who ended up being an undrafted free agent.

Mitchell Trubisky had to wait his turn behind Marquise Williams at the University of North Carolina before he went on to become the second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Meanwhile, the guy he sat behind went undrafted.

Ewers being a seventh-round draft pick, doesn't prevent Manning from having a better college career. It also doesn't guarantee Manning will have a better career than Ewers, or even have more success at the college level.

This article first appeared on Texas Longhorns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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