Arch Manning will compete with Quinn Ewers for Texas QB job

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Arch Manning will get his chance to earn the starting job at Texas from the start.

Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian made it clear after the team’s first spring practice on Tuesday that the freshman Manning, the nephew of Payton and Eli, will be competing with sophomore Quinn Ewers to be Texas’ starting quarterback this season.

Ewers started 10 games last year after transferring from Ohio State to throw for 2,177 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions on his way to being Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year.

Manning, the son of Cooper, arrives as one of the most prized recruits in the Class of 2023, rated No. 5 overall by ESPN.

Sarkisian said he isn’t concerned about the hype around his star frosh.

“I’m not worried about who’s going to be on the cover of what magazine next week,” Sarkisian told reporters Tuesday via ESPN. “I’m more focused on is, is each guy focusing on what they need to do to develop to be the best player that they can be?

“Quinn has an entire year of a head start, but I don’t want to hold Arch back. I want to see how far he can take this thing and what it can look like.”

The coach tried to temper expectations around Manning, stressing he is still a true freshman at 17 years old and has plenty to adjust to.

He did seem impressed with the potential of the 6-foot-4 quarterback.

“For Arch today, Day 1, there’s some plays for sure that he would love to have back,” Sarkisian said. “There’s some other plays that he made where I think everybody was like, ‘Wow, that was a heck of a play.’

“But he brings a worker’s mentality and he wants to be really good at this game.”

Ewers is coming off a strong close to the season after a rocky start, finishing with 116 straight passes without throwing a pick and a 369-yard effort in the Alamo Bowl loss to Washington.

His coach praised his growing leadership and how he’s already helping Manning get acclimated

“I think what he’s done, he’s serving for Arch and, ‘Hey, this is what it looks like,'” Sarkisian said. “‘And this is how to go about your business.'”

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