It’s Arch Manning’s time to take the spotlight! Yes, he is ready to rock at the QB starting gig at Austin in his third year. After a lot of back and forth, Manning is expected to be kicking things off under center when Texas opens the 2025 season on Aug. 30 at Ohio State. The quintessential Arch Manning vs. Quinn Ewers questions came to a permanent halt as the latter moved to pursue an NFL gig after a bumpy season. Will Arch Manning prove to be the right choice to move on to? Can he do full justice to the hype?

Manning spent a chunk of his Longhorns career waiting in the wings, as Sarkisian didn’t want to compromise with his celebrated QB1 Quinn Ewers as long as he was healthy. However, with Ewers suffering an oblique injury early in the regular season, Manning guided the team to two victories against UL Monroe and Mississippi State, raising expectations to an unprecedented level. With all that we saw of Arch last year, naturally, some analysts are quite sold on him.

”There are challenges. It’s going to be different. Now listen, I’m high on Arch Manning; I think Arch Manning when it’s all said and done when the dust settles, and we’re doing our postseason quarterback rankings, can be a top three or four quarterback in the league; maybe he can be top two or three. He has the potential and the talent to be number one, that said it’s a lot of pressure to put on a kid,” said Chris Phillips during the February 20th episode of the SEC Unfiltered podcast. If you look at the schedule, the Horns will face a tough battle against the Buckeyes. They also travel to Georgia and Florida for two tough road games.

On the top, Arch won’t get the super-premium old depth chart as a backup as the Longhorns lost guys like Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, and Jordan Whittington. So, the new QB1 will carry a load that is way different from his predecessor in the rank.

”The thing that I will say, though, makes me feel confident about Arch. When it comes to that, the kid’s last name is Manning. I don’t think he’s going to have any pressure on him, necessarily that he hasn’t had to this point in life. When your last name is Manning, there’s pressure to live up to that last name; the SEC insider adds some ease to the trouble to keep the hype alive.

While the last name argument is, of course, there, we have seen examples of the next generation struggling to live up to the hype. In some cases, players rise to the occasion. For instance, look at how Shedeur Sanders proved himself. The same can’t be said about his brother Shilo. Recently, we have also seen how Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, struggled to adapt to NBA standards. Arch’s case is slightly different. He showed up in 2024, and when given a chance to lead the offense, he can excel.

However, with all that said and done, it seems Ewers’ popularity is actually getting the better of him.

Quinn Ewers had to sleep on some other choices than Texas due to Arch Manning

It’s not just about the current doldrums about the sanguinity in his potential success as a QB1 at Texas; Arch’s esteemed background held him from accepting the other blueblood school’s offers, including Alabama. In an online interview with Sprung that was uploaded on TikTok, Arch Manning came clean on the stinging issues he has been dealing with on campus.

He was then asked whether or not things could have been different in other schools and revealed that he had to let go of a proposed “visit” to Alabama due to his immense popularity over there. “It’s like my buddies who go to Alabama, they want me to come visit,” Arch Manning said. “I don’t know if that’s the best idea. Tuscaloosa. But Austin is nice. You can go to parts of it where you can kind of getaway, and nobody knows about football. You’re just another guy.”

Maybe, just maybe, he would have some lesser pressure with the Horns and a greater chance to shine even earlier! You never know! But Cooper Manning knows the road ahead will be bumpy for his son, and hence he does not appreciate all the media exaggeration at all.

However, we will soon find out how much Arch Manning is weighing out at the Texas center, striking all the ifs and buts.