What to know about Arch Manning as he makes his first start for Texas

Arch Manning, the most famous backup quarterback in football, will make his first college start Saturday night for No. 1 Texas against Louisiana-Monroe, replacing the injured Quinn Ewers.

The 19-year-old son of Cooper Manning, Arch represents the next generation of football royalty from the Manning family. His grandfather, Archie, starred at Ole Miss in the 1960s and played for the New Orleans Saints in the NFL. His uncles, Peyton and Eli, won two Super Bowls apiece in the NFL after decorated college careers at Tennessee and Ole Miss, respectively.

How did Arch get here and what’s next? Here’s a guide to what to know heading into the Longhorns’ game against the Warhawks, which will be streaming on ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET Saturday.

What has Manning done at Texas so far?

Manning’s existence at Texas has been a bit of a throwback to the way quarterback development used to be before the transfer portal. Manning enrolled at Texas in 2023, redshirted and saw minimal time as the third-string quarterback behind Ewers and backup Maalik Murphy. He made his career debut in the fourth quarter of the Longhorns’ regular-season finale, a 57-7 win over Texas Tech, and led two drives.

Manning saw just 27 snaps in two games last year (he came in the following week to take knees and kill the clock in the Longhorns’ Big 12 championship game win over Oklahoma State) but Murphy transferred to Duke after the season. Ewers opted to stay at Texas for one more season rather than enter the draft, cementing him as the Longhorns’ starter for a third consecutive season.

Manning has been Ewers’ primary backup and is already seeing more game time in 2024, with 55 combined snaps in wins against Colorado State and UTSA. In the 12 drives Manning has led this season, the Longhorns have scored seven touchdowns. For the season, Manning is 14-of-18 passing for 318 yards and five touchdowns and has two touchdown runs.

He completed his first five pass attempts in a 52-0 Week 1 win against Colorado State, notching his first career touchdowns. Against UTSA, Manning entered for an injured Ewers in the second quarter and threw for four touchdowns and ran for a 67-yard score. He finished 9 of 12 passing for 223 yards in a 56-7 win over the Roadrunners. — Sam Khan Jr.

CAN’T TOUCH HIM 😮‍💨@ArchManning pic.twitter.com/65nR57qIR5

— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) September 15, 2024

Why is Manning making his first start now?

Ewers left the UTSA game early in the second quarter with a strained oblique and did not return. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday that Ewers was “questionable” for Saturday’s game against ULM and that the Longhorns would monitor his progress throughout the week. On Thursday, Sarkisian said Ewers made “great strides” in his recovery but in the interest of his long-term health and career, as well as getting him healthy for SEC play, decided to start Manning.

“I’m looking forward to his future as a player but also the future of the season for us and the longevity,” Sarkisian said. “Getting him possibly one more week healthier for the long term, I think is good for us as we’re getting ready for SEC play.”

Sarkisian added that Ewers’ goals — leading Texas to a national championship, being in the Heisman Trophy race and becoming a top-five NFL Draft pick — won’t be disrupted by missing Saturday’s game. And Sarkisian wants to see how Manning runs the offense and operates as the starter.

“(He) had a really good week to work, understands the plan,” Sarkisian said of Manning. “But it’s different when you’re the starting quarterback as opposed to coming in cold off the bench as a backup. So, different challenge for him. But I know that he’ll be more than ready to go out and operate and play football at a high level for us.” — Khan

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Will Texas have a QB controversy when Ewers returns?

No. Ewers is the starter. When he’s healthy enough to return, he will be QB1.

Manning is a superb talent and looks like he’ll be a star when his time comes. He’s good enough to start for most other programs today. But Ewers has risen to the occasion in big moments for Texas time and again and happens to also be an elite talent too. Like Manning in 2023, Ewers was the No. 1 recruit in the 2021 class. He’s a potential first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa and took the Longhorns to the Playoff last year and beat Michigan in Ann Arbor this year. He has 25 starts under his belt and three years of experience in this offense. There is no quarterback controversy at Texas. — Khan

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Does Louisiana-Monroe pose a challenge Saturday?

The Warhawks were picked to finish last in their division and got the fewest votes in the Sun Belt Conference’s preseason media poll, though they have had a nice 2-0 start under new coach Bryant Vincent. They dominated UAB, 32-6, on Sept. 7. ULM has 73 new players on its roster, headlined by Oklahoma transfer quarterback General Booty, who has a connection to Manning, even though they’ve never met.

Despite the feel-good nature of ULM’s start, don’t expect the Warhawks to be in this game deep into the second half. They’re ranked 100th in The Athletic’s rankings of all 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams and are 44.5-point underdogs on Saturday according to BetMGM, because the talent gulf between the programs is significant. ULM is hoping to make a bowl game for the first time since 2012, while the Longhorns have their sights set on the Playoff and a national championship run. — Khan

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How did Manning end up at Texas?

No recruit in the modern era attracted more general interest than Manning, who was ranked as the nation’s top prospect in the Class of 2023. Manning had his pick of any school in the country as one of the most coveted prospects in recruiting history, but he took official visits to three schools in June 2022: Georgia, Alabama and Texas.

He committed to the Longhorns just six days after his official visit to Austin and about 11 months after news broke that Texas would be leaving the Big 12 for the SEC. The Texas decision made a lot of sense for Manning, who could spend his early days with the program developing and learning behind Ewers before taking over the offense himself once Ewers headed to the NFL.

Sarkisian has long been considered one of the sport’s most prominent offensive masterminds and has spent his career coaching quarterbacks. After Manning issued his commitment, his high school coaches at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans — where his father and uncles played — could sense how at peace he felt.

“He’s just in such a good place mentally,” Manning’s high school coach, Nelson Stewart, said in October 2022. “He’s having fun … and he’s playing so free.” — Grace Raynor

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What was Manning like as a recruit?

Pundits docked Manning for the level of competition he faced while at Newman, a Class 2A school, but he was able to combat that stigma when Newman played one of its most difficult schedules in program history during his senior year and he opened the season with a 21-point road victory at Class 5A Hahnville. Among Manning’s most impressive traits were his ability to extend plays when things broke down and the patience to go through multiple reads in his progression — even scoring touchdowns on his fifth read at times. Manning broke Eli’s school record of 7,268 career passing yards and Peyton’s school record of 93 career passing touchdowns. He finished his high school career with 8,599 career passing yards and 115 touchdowns against 20 interceptions, throwing just two picks during his senior season.

But for as decorated as Manning was on the field, he was one of the most low-maintenance recruits in recent history off it. He stayed out of the spotlight as much as possible and announced his commitment to Texas by sending out his first and only tweet at the time to his personal Twitter page. Once he committed to the Longhorns, there was never any buzz about a potential flip and he signed the paperwork in a ceremony at his high school. — Raynor

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What is Manning’s NFL Draft future?

The 19-year-old Manning will be eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft after his junior year of classes, though he will have three years of eligibility for college football remaining after this season because he redshirted as a freshman in 2023.

Physically, at 6 feet 4, 225 pounds with legit speed, athletic burst and first-round arm talent, Manning looks like an ideal quarterback prospect. It’s possible he’ll add strength, only improving his burst and agility in the pocket and general durability long-term. Frankly, we don’t have enough data right now to give him a proper draft projection. The relief duty last week against UTSA was the most we’ve seen of Manning, and while it featured a lot of great stuff — both with his feet and arm — it also showed an inexperienced passer who missed a few reads and wasn’t always in rhythm.

However, Manning’s natural quarterback instincts — footwork and processing — are elite. He generally plays the game with a rhythm and shows an understanding of a complex offense. Most important: He’s patient. The fact he wasn’t afraid to go to a school like Texas and grind without drama — simply because he wants to learn from Sarkisian in a stable environment — shows a type of maturity not often seen from today’s blue-chip quarterback recruits. — Nick Baumgardner

(Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)