Texas Longhorns HC Provides Update as QB Battle Between Top NIL Earners Brews

The Texas Longhorns could have a big question on their hands with the starting quarterback injured.

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The Texas Longhorns have found themselves at the center of the college football universe in 2024 with a roster that is ready to compete for a national title, a starting quarterback who is among the best in the country, and a backup quarterback who is even more popular than the starter.

Quinn Ewers, who entered the season as a Heisman hopeful, suffered what head coach Steve Sarkisian described as an 'oblique strain' in the Longhorns' 56-7 victory over UTSA on Saturday evening. When Ewers came out of the game, highly-touted sophomore Arch Manning came in and shined.

Manning completed nine of his 12 attempts for 223 yards and four touchdowns along with a 67-yard rushing touchdown on an option play. It's worth at least asking the question as to whether there could be a quarterback controversy brewing in Austin between the pair who both rank on the top-five of On3's NIL valuation rankings (Manning No. 4 at $3.1 million, Ewers No. 5 at $2.2 million).

With Texas facing Louisiana-Monroe this week, the starter at quarterback is likely not consequential to the result of the game, but on Monday, Sarkisian painted Ewers as 'questionable' and said that the team would monitor him day to day. Assuming the Longhorns decide to rest Ewers and give Manning the reigns against the Warhawks, what happens if the sophomore looks flawless and continues to add a gear to the offense in the run game that simply isn't Ewers' game?

In all likelihood, Manning is not going to claim the job in a game against ULM while Ewers is hurt, but with SEC play beginning the following week and back-to-back huge games looming in October against Oklahoma and Georgia, a closer microscope would certainly be placed on Ewers after fans have gotten a look at what Manning can do.

There is no question within the program or across the nation as to whether or not Arch Manning is the future of Texas Football, and he only further proved that on Saturday. But could the future potentially also become the present this season as the Longhorns look to return to the glory land? Time will certainly tell.