College Football

Steve Sarkisian: Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning in open QB battle

Updated Mar. 6, 2023 7:49 p.m. ET

One of the many juicy storylines that exists in college football this offseason revolves around who will start under center for the Texas Longhorns this fall — the incumbent Quinn Ewers or freshman Arch Manning?

Speaking Monday, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian left the door open for both players to win the job.

"I'm not worried about who's going to be on the cover of what magazine next week," Sarkisian said per ESPN. "I'm more focused on is each guy focusing on what they need to do to develop to be the best player that they can be. Quinn has an entire year of a head start, but I don't want to hold Arch back. I want to see how far he can take this thing and what it can look like."

Sarkisian also applauded both quarterbacks, saying that Ewers wants to be a "leader" and Manning has a "worker's mentality."

Ewers had an up-and-down 2022 campaign, his freshman season. He left the Longhorns' Week 2 matchup against Alabama with a shoulder injury and didn't return for four weeks. When Ewers did return, he helped lead Texas to a 49-0 trouncing of Red River rival Oklahoma. With that said, the Texas quarterback completed just 47.1% of his passes across a four-game stretch later in the season.

[Texas spring football storylines: Can Arch Manning win QB battle?]

Across the 10 games that Ewers appeared in, he totaled 2,177 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, six interceptions and a 132.6 passer rating, completing 58.1% of his passes. Texas finished the 2022 season 8-5 (6-3 in Big 12 play).

Ewers was a five-star recruit and among the top quarterback prospects in 2021. Similarly, Manning is a five-star recruit who ranks in the upper echelon of the 2023 recruiting class.

Manning is the nephew of former NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, and the grandson of former NFL QB Archie Manning.

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