Quinn Ewers is in a unique spotlight, having led Texas to the College Football Playoff semifinals last season and opting to return to Austin instead of entering the NFL draft, as fans clamor for the most famous backup quarterback in the country, Arch Manning, to take the field.
Ewers, though, isn’t concerned about Manning lurking as QB2.
“There’s pressure with anything,” Ewers, now projected to be one of the top quarterbacks taken in the 2025 NFL Draft, told ESPN in a television interview. “I think the pressure along from playing the quarterback position at Texas comes with its own.”
Ewers says he and Manning, whom he described as “goofy,” are “good buddies,” something head coach Steve Sarkisian echoed during an interview with ESPN.com, addressing the perception that the two quarterbacks don’t get along.
“These guys are great, great friends. Nobody gets along better,” Sarkisian said. “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 Archer’s perspective, he’s watching Quinn have to go through some of the adversity, having a fight through injury, having to deal with the 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, I think Quinn recognizes Arch’s journey Year 1 in our system and what that’s like. If you go back to the spring game Arch’s true freshman year, what that looked like, and then to see how he played Year 2 in the system, there’s great appreciation from Quinn for what Arch is doing. So in the end, we’re probably going to need both those guys at some point this season.”
Manning, the son of Cooper and nephew of Peyton and Eli, played sparingly as a freshman last season as Ewers led the Longhorns to the College Football Playoff semifinals, where they lost in the Sugar Bowl to Washington, 37-31.
Ewers’ return led to speculation that Manning may transfer so he can play.
But Manning, who showed off his potential in Texas’ spring game this year, said earlier this month that it was his “dream” to play at Texas and he wants to stick it out to eventually be QB1 in Austin.
Texas opens its season at home against Colorado State on Aug. 31 before traveling to Ann Arbor for a massive early-season showdown with defending national champion Michigan on Sept. 7.
