Did Steve Sarkisian sticking with Quinn Ewers over Arch Manning cost Texas a title?
Should Arch Manning have been the starter last season? Did Texas coach Steve Sarkisian cost the Longhorns last year's title by sticking with Quinn Ewers? Did Sark cost UT two titles? That's the backdrop USA TODAY Sports says the 2025 season should be viewed in.
USA TODAY Sports writer Matt Hayes says the decision to keep Manning on the bench was, "what could one day be considered a monumentally poor decision by one of the game's best coaches."
Earlier this week at the Touchdown Club in Houston, Sark admitted that if the Longhorns have a great 2025 season, Manning may leave the 40 Acres for the 2026 NFL Draft. Of course, Sark is hoping for a good season. 'I hope it's not a no-brainer for him to come back to school.' Sarkisian said.
"If Manning plays so well this fall that he leaves for the NFL after one season as a starter, what does that say about Sarkisian's decision to start (and play) Quinn Ewers in 2024?
If Manning is talented enough to play at a high level in 2025 and earn a pre-NFL Draft grade that warrants him leaving early, he should've been playing in 2024, too. If not starting.
Especially for a team that had a program-record 12 players drafted last week. For a program that has strung together three straight top five recruiting classes, and is as talented as any Texas team in decades.
Instead, Manning started two gimme games in 2024 when Ewers was hurt. He threw passes in all of six games for a team talented enough to win the national title." - Matt Hayes of USA TODAY Sports.
Hayes argues that Manning would have helped Texas' offensive struggles late in the season. The Horns struggled with offensive consistency in three of their last five games, including only 14 points in the college football playoff semifinal against eventual national champ Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
The game was in the balance, but Ewers and the offense couldn't punch in the go tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. Instead, Ewers fumbled and Buckeyes defensive end Jack Sawyer returned it 83-yards for the game-clinching touchdown.
Hayes points out, Vince Young took a huge jump in year two at Texas. Even if Manning had failed to win last year's title as the starter, he'd have gained valuable experience like VY did.
"Should he have had that opportunity a year earlier? And much like Young, what would he have done with it — and how far would Texas has gone with him?
Sarkisian said during spring practice that he believes Manning will play well in 2025, and that the offense has the pieces to be highly productive. He says he doesn't expect a drop-off from last season.
If Sarkisian is talking about a no-brainer decision for Manning to leave early for the NFL, it's more than just avoiding a drop-off. It's playing at a high level and leading Texas beyond where the season ended the last two years." - Matt Hayes of USA TODAY Sports.
One reason many of these questions are coming up now is how far Quinn Ewers fell in the 2025 NFL Draft. Ewers was drafted 231st in the seventh round by the Miami Dolphins. The eye-ball test may have shown Manning looked better than Ewers, but now NFL scouts have all but confirmed it.
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