Arch Manning mania will kick into overdrive this weekend now that the redshirt freshman will make his first career start for No. 1 Texas against Louisiana-Monroe. But don’t get too carried away.
Quinn Ewers is still QB1 for the Longhorns, according to coach Steve Sarkisian.
It’s unclear how much time Ewers will be sidelined with a strained abdominal injury. But if you’re going to get hurt, best to do it early. Texas (3-0) is a 45-point favorite this week against ULM (2-0). There’s a long season ahead, and Sarkisian believes Ewers can still accomplish all of his goals.
The schedule works in Ewers' favor. After Saturday's game against ULM, Texas hosts Mississippi State in its SEC opener then comes a bye week before facing rival Oklahoma on Oct. 12. That's a lot of time for Ewers to rest and heal.
“Obviously, anytime you initially come out of a ballgame, there’s a level of frustration,” Sarkisian told reporters on Thursday. “But I think as the week has gone on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, he’s in really good spirits.
“One thing I tried to impress upon Quinn, all the goals he had and that we’ve had for him coming into this season are all still there for him,” Sarkisian added. “You know, I think we have a national championship caliber team, and he’s the quarterback of that team, and I think we still have that in front of us to go do that.”
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Quick aside: that’s the first time Sarkisian has been so full-throated about his confidence in this year’s Longhorns. Fans should love that Sarkisian is so straight-forward about his personal expectations.
“I think with some of the games that we have coming up down the road, this guy's going to be in New York for the Heisman and whether he wins it or not, but he has the ability to do that,” Sarkisian said. “And I think he has ability to be a top five NFL draft pick.
“So all the things that I think he’s capable of are still out there for him, and him not playing in this game this Saturday is not going to impact those three things that I know are goals that we’ve set for him and that he’s working towards.”
Sarkisian said Ewers’ psyche has bounced back into a more positive mindset.
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“Naturally, everybody’s always a little… you’re a little down when you don’t get to do what you love to do,” Sarkisian said. “And he loves to play football, but I think his understanding of he’s getting healthy, and he’s getting healthy quickly, and that all the goals and things are still out there in front of him to go achieve this season has really kind of inspired him to get back into feeling good. And when his numbers called, be ready to play.”
This isn’t the first time Ewers has been injured. He suffered a fractured clavicle after getting driven into the turf by Alabama’s Dallas Turner in 2022. Ewers had to miss three games. Then last season, Ewers suffered a shoulder injury against Houston and missed two games.
The difference this season is that Texas fans — and the college football world — has been bitten by the Manning hysteria bug. Inside the Texas football building, there has never been controversy; Ewers would be the starter in 2024 and then move to the NFL, and Manning would become the face of the program in 2025.
But something about Arch’s last name and family ties has sent everyone, mostly those outside Austin, into a tailspin.
“I don’t think he has to focus on leading right now,” Sarkisian said of Manning. “I think he needs to focus on knowing what he’s supposed to do playing at a high level.”
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