Throughout the season, there have been a lot of fans clamoring for the Texas Longhorns to replace starting quarterback Quinn Ewers with young former five-star Arch Manning, who happens to be the nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning. But three-time national champion head coach Urban Meyer is certainly not one of those people.
During an appearance on Friday’s episode of The Herd with Colin Cowher on FS1, Urban Meyer called out Arch Manning a bit as he made it clear that he does not find him to be “overwhelming” in terms of his talent – at least not right now.
“Here’s the thing about Arch, I think he’s going to be a great player. I’m about to say something that I don’t want to offend anybody (or imply) that he’s not going to be a great player. He’s going to be a great player. But when I watched – and I did, I went back and watched a bunch of his tape – it’s not like he’s overwhelming yet,” Urban Meyer said according to On3. “It’s not like he comes in the game and he just blows the doors off everybody else. So, I don’t see that drastic (difference with Ewers).”
Meyer does think that there’s a chance Manning could be great and could go on to be a top pick in the NFL Draft, but he’s not at that point yet.
“I do believe Arch Manning, at some point, will be a high draft pick and all that, but that time is not now,” Meyer continued. “So, I think (Sarkisian) is doing the right thing with Quinn Ewers, who’s won the big games. Do you do the Nick Saban (replacing Hurts for Tagovailoa), which is one of the gutsiest moves I’ve ever seen, in that scenario? Only Sark knows that because we’re not privy to being at practice and what Arch is really capable of doing. What I’ve seen (of Manning is) he’s got a great future, but right now Quinn Ewers is their best opportunity to win.”
So as Texas prepares for a College Football Playoff showdown with the Ohio State Buckeyes, Meyer would not expect Manning to replace Ewers in the game.
It’s worth noting that Texas has installed a few special packages for Manning to utilize his running ability, given that he is a bit more athletic than Ewers, but the team is not expected to replace Ewers as the full-time starter.