Arch Manning Named Texas Backup QB For College Football Playoff

Steve Sarkisian officially named Arch Manning as the Texas Longhorns backup quarterback for the College Football Playoff.

Matt Galatzan | Dec 20, 2023

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Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN, TX -- The Texas Longhorns lost backup quarterback Maalik Murphy to the NCAA Transfer Portal last week, leaving them potentially vulnerable behind star starter Quinn Ewers.

And while it is hardly a surprise, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian made things official on Wednesday, naming five-star freshman Arch Manning as the No. 2 QB behind Ewers for the Longhorns Sugar Bowl matchup vs. Washington on Jan. 1.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up before a game against the Wyoming Cowboys at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. — Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

Manning came to Austin as the No. 1 overall recruit in the national, and perhaps the most hyped recruit in the history of college football.

Not only that but some even purported that he could challenge the incumbent starter in Ewers as a true freshman. Of course, that was never the case, and Manning spent the entirety of the regular season and Texas' Big 12 Championship game matchup vs. Oklahoma State as the team's third-string quarterback behind Ewers and Murphy.

That said, the lack of playing time only made fans clamor for Manning to get more reps as the season progressed. Particularly when Ewers went down with an injury, and was forced to miss time vs. BYU and Kansas State.

Instead, Sarkisian opted to go with Murphy as the starter in those games, with the now-transfer portal QB going 2-0 in those two starts.

Manning did get in vs. Texas Tech and looked rather impressive in his limited snaps there. He also went it briefly vs. Oklahoma State in Arlington.

Maalik Murphy's Departure Leaves Texas Vulnerable In Sugar Bowl

However, now he is the primary back and is just one unfortunate play away from being on the biggest stage of his life.

Luckily for the Horns, however, Sarkisian believes Manning is more than ready.

"He’s more than capable," Sarkisian said Wednesday. "He showed that in his play (vs. Texas Tech). We’ll have him ready. I told him the other day, ‘You’re not really a freshman anymore. You’re a sophomore now.'"

Texas and Washington will kick off at 7:45 pm CT on Jan. 1

Published Dec 20, 2023

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.