WHO NEEDS A MANNING WHEN QUINN EWERS MIGHT WIN A TITLE AND A HEISMAN?
Texas manhandled Michigan in the Big House, just as it won at Alabama last season, and the quarterback is so “collected” that he isn’t bothered by Arch as a backup and might rule college football
We are far beyond a Dr. Pepper commercial where Quinn Ewers tells a cop, “Backup? We don’t need any backup. I’ve got this. Maybe he has great hair and famous relatives.” He is referring to Arch Manning, who does have Peyton and Eli and whatever they do on Monday nights. But he’s nothing but a reserve quarterback on the Texas football team.
This is an hour after Ewers clobbered Michigan in the Big House, quieting the mobs while Jim Harbaugh wisely rejected a return as an honorary captain. Enough with in-house comparisons. Ewers might be the forthcoming Heisman Trophy winner and might lead the Longhorns to the national championship. Next April, he might be chosen before Carson Beck and Shedeur Sanders in the NFL draft.
No one cares about Arch, not even Arch.
“There's something about Quinn in his demeanor. He's a very calm guy. He's really collected. He never rides the emotional rollercoaster,” coach Steve Sarkisian said. "When you've got a quarterback everybody can believe in, that just fuels confidence and belief that, 'Hey, let's go do our part, because the guy that's holding the ball every play, he's on point.’ ’’
What we know is how the Big Ten can chill about Week 2 supremacy over the SEC, amid college football’s unhinged conference realignment. Saturday’s final was 31-12, without being that close, and early returns are insignificant when we discuss the best teams. Our answer won’t be known until a 12-team playoff system is unveiled. We’ll see if Georgia and Texas — who play in Austin next month in an unprecedented SEC growl — overcome a northern-and-western conference that has early aches in Ann Arbor and will have no favorite until Ohio State visits Oregon. So far, Ewers is the biggest name in the sport as the first quarterback to win at Michigan and Alabama in consecutive years since 1980. “Hook ‘em” becomes a national motto again.
“I just enjoy big moments,” he said. “When we were at Alabama, we were trying to prove, not only to ourselves, but to everybody what type of team we are. Coming here and getting the job done ... feels just about the same.”
Rather than join the more extensive professional ranks last April, Ewers remained knowing he’s the latest prince of the Name, Image and Likeness platform. He’s an NIL pitchman for three drinks, stars in an ad for Hulu and graces the cover of “EA Sports College Football 25.” He’s the new Caleb Williams, sure to be seen by millions in the Manning ad. Not that he’s hooked on it, knowing he’s “good buddies” with a teammate who is “goofy.” Arch will be a presumed star next season as the son of Cooper, brother of Peyton and Eli. Not yet.
“If NIL wasn’t a thing, it might have been different,” Ewers said. “It kind of gives people time to develop since they’re not so worried about having to pay for things because they have that NIL money that’s coming in.”
Said Sarkisian, whose QB room is precious: “These guys are great, great friends. Nobody gets along better. There’s a real level of appreciation for what each guy is doing. Because they know the journey, they know the path, they know how we coach him. From Arch’s perspective, he’s watching Quinn have to go through some of the adversity, having to deal with criticism of being the quarterback of Texas — so to see him have success, I think Arch is fired up for Quinn. On the flip side, Quinn recognizes Arch’s journey in our system and what that is like. There’s great appreciation from Quinn for what Arch is doing.”
The Manning clan thought well enough of Sarkisian to let Arch sit behind Ewers. Years ago, no one had faith in the coach except Nick Saban, who gave him a berth as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Was he an alcoholic following a disaster at USC, where he lost his job as head coach? He proved otherwise at Alabama and became a hot commodity, re-signing at Texas when there was interest in hiring him after Saban retired. Cooper, Peyton and Eli watched closely.
“You know you’ve impacted a lot of people. No one have you impacted more than me,” Sarkisian told Saban. “I would not be standing here today without you. What you’ve meant to my career, to my life and the impact that you’ve had on our game has been second to none. I just can’t thank you enough. I want to be able to publicly do that to you, Coach. Thank you very, very much.”
Imagine if he overcomes Georgia and Alabama and advances to the national title game. It’s possible after the Longhorns beat Michigan for the first time in 17 games and ended a home winning streak of 23 games. The new coach, Sherrone Moore, does not have a legitimate QB. Ohio State roars. “I never really thought about growing pains, just what can we do to get better,” Moore said. “We knew we were a new team. We never try to rest on our laurels that we won the national championship last year.”
At some point, Texas will need Manning, who threw and ran for scores in a 52-0 stomping of Colorado State. “We’re probably going to need both those guys at some point,” Sarkisian said. Until then, Arch won’t be a topic on “The Manningcast.”
“I’m proud of Arch. I'm proud of him," Peyton told Pat McAfee. “Most kids probably wouldn't have stayed in that situation. He went to Texas because he wanted to play at Texas. He wanted to go to college and play for Sarkisian ... most of the right reasons you should choose a college. I'm glad he's staying there. He and Quinn have a great relationship, and I think Quinn is going to have a great year.”
Backup? Not even sure Manning has great hair. But wait until the 2025 Heisman ceremony and the 2026 draft, when NFL teams will maneuver to make him Next.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.