Arch Manning finally has a chance to be the Texans' full-time starter next season.
Quinn Ewers reportedly plans to enter the NFL Draft. According to Orange BloodThis clears the way for the Longhorns to start the 2025 season with Manning, the nephew of former NFL stars Peyton and Eli, as their signal caller.
Manning also has “no plans” to enter the transfer portal, the paper added.
But at this point last year, it at least looked like a possibility after Manning sat behind Ewers as a true freshman and watched Ewers decide to return for the collegiate season.
Ewers, who reportedly still has one year of eligibility left, will begin his career as a backup at Ohio State in 2021 before transferring to Texas and becoming a starter next season.
He threw for 3,479 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions last year, and added 2,665 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2024, helping the University of Texas earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.
However, Manning played in eight games this season, starting against Louisiana-Monroe on September 21st and against Mississippi State on September 28th, when Ewers was sidelined with an oblique injury.
In those games, Manning threw for 583 yards and four touchdowns, with eight cameos, including a brief appearance in the Longhorns' loss to Georgia in Saturday's SEC Championship Game. He threw for 939 yards and nine touchdowns rushing heading into the game. Four more.
Ewers was also benched briefly by head coach Steve Sarkisian on October 19 against the Bulldogs.
Still, despite the inevitable questions that will erupt in the potential quarterback debate, Ewers is one of the top quarterbacks available in the 2025 NFL Draft, along with Colorado's Shedule Sanders and Miami's Cam Ward. He is listed as one of the backs.
And before that, he has a chance to lead the Longhorns in the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff, where No. 5 seed Texas is scheduled to host No. 12 seed Clemson on Dec. 21. .
If the Longhorns survive, they will keep moving forward.
But if the Tigers pull off an upset, the Texas loss could also serve as the beginning of the Manning era in Austin.
