Five-star quarterback Arch Manning has offered up a lot of hype and potential since arriving in Austin, Texas. But at the 2023 Texas Longhorns spring game, he finally showed off the skills that have people so excited about Peyton and Eli’s nephew.
During the first quarter of Saturday’s spring game, Manning threw a very deep ball to Longhorns wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. that culminated in a 75-yard touchdown.
Manning’s spring game performance has a lot of people wondering if he might be able to supplant returning starter Quinn Ewers, who spurned the 2024 NFL Draft for a chance to win an SEC title and national title with the Longhorns this year. Still, some think it’s only a matter of time before head coach Steve Sarkisian replaces him with Arch Manning.
Don’t count Fox college football reporter Bruce Feldman among those who think that’s the plan.
We all saw @ArchManning dominate in the @TexasFootball Spring Game but will we see that this fall at any point?@BruceFeldmanCFB handicaps the notion:#NFL #NFLDraft #HookEm pic.twitter.com/7MR8o9ddIE
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) April 23, 2024
“I think it hasn’t changed. The only thing I would think might have changed… is there’s just more fan excitement about Arch Manning now that they’ve seen it,” Feldman told Rich Eisen during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show. “Everything, it sounds like, his development is coming along really, really well.”
Feldman sounded pretty secure that there isn’t a quarterback controversy brewing in Austin.
“I don’t think this is a quarterback battle,” said Feldman. “I think the one way Arch gets in there this coming year is if there’s a quarterback injury.”
“What you’re looking at right now is, I think, a really good quarterback room for Texas. You have a proven starter… who learned to be more of a leader. And you have a really promising young player who’s really smart and very athletic and has blossomed more as a passer. I think this is a great situation for Sark and I think it’s a great situation for Arch, because he doesn’t need to be thrown out there.
Feldman still sees Manning as a quarterback in need of time and experience, and he thinks that will pay off down the road for him and Texas.
“He’s still a young quarterback and it’s a big jump from where he played in high school to now you’re in the SEC. He’ll probably play a bunch this year in 2024 and then he’ll be the guy next year, I suspect. We don’t know how things are gonna play out this year but I think he’ll play a lot this year. He’ll keep developing and that’s a good situation for, I think, everybody in Texas.”
