Arch Manning could have transferred from the Texas Longhorns this offseason after starter Quinn Ewers announced his return to Texas, but he decided to stick around. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to play much this season.
After sitting the bench for much of his freshman season with the Longhorns, Arch Manning is now headed into his second season of college football. But prominent college football insider and expert Pete Thamel doesn’t seem to think that Manning is going to play a lot this year, either.
“I really feel like Arch Manning is going to take the same amount of relevant snaps this year as he took last year as Texas’ quarterback, which was zero,” Thamel said on Get Up according to On3. “Quinn Ewers is a top 10 NFL draft pick. I think if Quinn Ewers went out in the last draft, he would have been a top 10 pick. He is 16-6 as a starter at Texas. If Texas wins 12 games this year … Ewers would end up as Texas’ third all time winningest quarterback behind guys named Colt McCoy and Vince Young. So I really feel like if Ewers stays healthy which is an issue, he missed three games two seasons ago. He missed two games last year.
“He walked into media days, almost at 215 pounds, he’s a bigger guy. (Ewers) looks like he has an NFL ready body. I feel like if he stays healthy this year, Arch Manning is going to stay where he stayed, he’s on the bench. Remember, Arch Manning was the third string quarterback at Texas last year. Maalik Murphy played the two games that Quinn Ewers missed. Maalik obviously transferred to Duke where he’ll be the starter. So Arch Manning right now is break only in case of emergency.”
It’s obviously a brutal prediction for Manning and anyone who was hoping to see him play significant snaps this season. But Manning will have a chance to compete for the starting role next season.
[On3]
