JUST IN: Joel Klatt Gives Honest Opinion of Arch Manning Details below…
The Texas Longhorns (13-3) faced an unexpected finish in their first season in the SEC. Although they were among the top teams in college football throughout the season, they suffered an overtime loss in the SEC Championship Game to the Georgia Bulldogs (11-3). Additionally, their postseason ended in the College Football Playoff semifinals, where they were defeated 28-14 by the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes (13-2).
The Longhorns are now looking to the future, which revolves around quarterback Arch  Manning, following the announcement that starting quarterback Quinn Ewers will be turning pro. Arch Manning is the grandson of legendary college quarterback Archie Manning and the nephew of NFL stars Peyton and Eli Manning. He was also ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class by On3.
Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt appeared on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” to discuss Ewers’ decision to turn pro. During the conversation, Cowherd asked Klatt for his opinion on Manning’s abilities. Klatt responded that there were instances this season when he believed Manning should have been playing instead of Ewers.
“Arch is very good,” Klatt said. “There were points in the season that I thought they should have put Arch in the game. He’s more mobile. I think that he drives the football into smaller windows down the field. He’s got a much higher ceiling (than Quinn Ewers).”
Manning played in 10 games and made two starts due to an injury that Ewers sustained in the first quarter against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks. He completed 67.8% of his passes for 939 yards, with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. Throughout the season, he was also utilized in a run package. In the season’s final game, he came in on a fourth-and-one situation, picking up eight yards. This ultimately led to Texas’ first touchdown of the game, tying the score at seven just before the end of the first half.
Klatt believes that Manning has an advantage over Ewers in this regard. Manning recorded 108 rushing yards with an average of 4.3 yards per carry and scored four touchdowns. In contrast, Ewers had a negative rushing total of -82 yards and two touchdowns for the season. Over his career, Ewers has a total of -59 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
Manning will be expected to perform at a high level despite missing some key players. The Longhorns are losing their second-leading rusher, Jaydon Blue, along with their top three receivers: Matthew Golden, Isaiah Bond and Gunnar Helm. Additionally, they are losing four of their five starting offensive linemen.
It will be a challenging task, but Texas hopes Manning is ready for it.
