Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, a former five-star recruit, is probably one of the top quarterbacks in the nation -- even though he won't enter the 2024 season as the starter in Austin.
Manning, who was a true freshman in 2023, is set to serve as the backup to Quinn Ewers at Texas this fall.
The expectation is that Manning will take over as the starting quarterback for the Longhorns in 2025.
Manning is opting to stick around at Texas to gain experience in Steve Sarkisian's offense instead of transferring in search of immediate playing time. It's a refreshing approach in this day and age of constant movement in the transfer portal.
Anyone who follows college football closely knows that the backup quarterback almost always sees action at some point. Whether it's filling in while the starter is injured or taking some snaps due to an ineffective starter, it's almost inevitable that the backup will play some important snaps throughout the course of a season.
Texas is fortunate to have a player as talented as Manning serving as their backup. In fact, 247Sports thinks Manning is the top backup quarterback in the nation, ranking the New Orleans native at No. 1 in their 2024 backup quarterback rankings.
From 247Sports: According to Texas starter Quinn Ewers, the former No. 1 player in the country Arch Manning made tremendous strides ahead of his second season with the Longhorns. And this marks the first that he'll be the second-teamer after Maalik Murphy transferred to Duke. Manning completed 2-of-5 passes for 30 yards as a true freshman last fall.
"Year two, you always see a big jump with quarterbacks in this offense," Ewers said this month. "You're just so much more comfortable, and your confidence just goes through the roof."
Manning completed two-of-five passes for 30 yards last season as a true freshman while playing behind Ewers and Maalik Murphy (who transferred to Duke this offseason). Arch should see significantly more action in 2024 as he slides up to No. 2 on the depth chart (Murphy attempted 71 passes last season while operating as the Longhorns' primary backup quarterback).
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