With Quinn Ewers and the Texas Longhorns blowing out Colorado State in their opening game of the season, head coach Steve Sarkisian decided to give sophomore quarterback Arch Manning some time under center.
Manning, the nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning, didn’t disappoint in his first snaps of the new year.
Manning was 5-for-6 for 95 yards with a touchdown pass, the first of his college career, as the Longhorns demolished the Rams, 52-0, to begin the season on the right foot.
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But Manning didn’t just find the end zone through the air. He ran for his first rushing touchdown.
With the score 38-0 late in the third quarter, Manning was leading the Longhorns’ offense on third-and-goal from the 5-yard line when he took the snap. As he surveyed the field, he stepped up in the pocket and looked like he was going to try to run it in for the score himself.
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However, as he bounced out right, he noticed Silas Bolden all alone near the right sideline. Manning dished a shovel pass Bolden’s way. After making the catch, Bolden dove into the end zone for the score.
Then Manning found himself on the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal in the fourth quarter when he took a quarterback sneak right up the gut for a touchdown, Texas’ final score of the day.
Manning was quick to celebrate with his teammates, and the ESPN broadcast had shots of Texas fans in the stands cheering. Some of the fans were holding up banners with Manning’s student ID on it. He infamously lost his ID on campus during his freshman year, and it went viral on social media.
Manning, the five-star recruit out of Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, the same school his father, Cooper Manning, and uncles starred at, saw time in just two Longhorns games last season with Ewers as the team’s starter.
Ewers remains the starter for head coach Steve Sarkisian after opting to return after a College Football Playoff loss to Washington, and he was productive in the win Saturday, going 20-for-27 for 260 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
Manning was the Longhorns’ third quarterback on the depth chart last season, but with Maalik Murphy transferring to Duke, he now backs up Ewers.
Ewers will remain Texas’ starter, but with performances like this, Manning should get more opportunities in blowout situations this season.
Manning may not be starting, but many college football fans are anticipating the time he can start under center for Texas. Many believed he’d leave for another school through the transfer portal.
At the moment, Manning is in line to start for Texas next season with Ewers expected to leave for the NFL after this year.
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