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USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Is Steve Spurrier right about the Texas Longhorns starting QB?
Texas sophomore quarterback Arch Manning has been the talk of the offseason with 100% positive coverage from the national media, which is not surprising given his lineage and five-star recruiting rating. Already the preseason front-runner for the 2026 Heisman Trophy with +700 odds (FanDuel), Manning's lack of playtime over the last two years after sitting behind veteran Quinn Ewers has led to one famous name questioning the overwhelming hype. This week, Hall of Fame coach Steve Spurrier, most known for coaching Florida (1990-2001) and South Carolina (2005-2015), including leading the Gators to the 1996 National Championship, made an appearance on Pat Dooley's Another Dooley Noted Podcast, as the topic of Arch Manning's first starting season came up, and Spurrier did not hold back. "They've got Arch Manning already winning the Heisman (Trophy), too. My question is, if he's that good, how come they let Quinn Ewers play all the time last year? He was a seventh-round pick." Spurrier is, of course, entitled to his opinion, but it's fair to note that Quinn Ewers played through a torn oblique through most of the 2024 season, resulting in a lack of mobility that hindered his accuracy. During Ewers' two-game absence, Manning looked solid in his place and went on to appear in ten games, primarily used as a runner. However, Manning will be playing in front of two new starters at left and right tackle and throwing to an inexperienced wide receiver corps, but will be aided by a talented running back room led by junior Quintreveon Wisner. Using Ewers' 7th-round draft selection could be seen as a cheap shot. Still, I believe that last season's veteran team would have continued to back Ewers as the starter to finish his Texas career on a high note before Manning eventually took the reins. Arch Manning's arm strength, dual-threat running ability, and above-average accuracy and touch should lead a young but highly talented Texas offense to at least 10 or 11 wins, mainly due to head coach Steve Sarkisian's play-calling. Like Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed, both sophomore signal callers will be under fire if things go south. Still, unlike Manning, Reed will be working with an equally talented, but more experienced, receiving corps and a loaded running back room in front of what many consider the best offensive line in the SEC. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Steve Spurrier questions Steve Sarkisian's handling of Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers
Steve Spurrier is tired of hearing that the Texas Longhorns are the favorites to win the SEC in 2025. The "head ball coach" questions a lot of things about the UT program, including the entire quarterback situation over the past two years. 'Most people are picking Texas to win the SEC in football,' Spurrier said on Another Dooley Noted Podcast. 'They've got Arch Manning already winning the Heisman, too. My question is, if he was this good how come they let Quinn Ewers play all the time last year? He was a 7th round pick?' After the dust settled on last season, there were many that felt Texas coach Steve Sarkisian's decision to stick with Ewers at quarterback might have cost Texas last year's national title. To extrapolate further, if Manning had started last season and UT didn't win the title, at least Arch would have more experience going into this season. USA TODAY Sports writer Matt Hayes said 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." It seems Spurrier shares that opinion. If Manning is so good, shouldn't he have beat out Ewers? The Texas QB room over the past two years was one of the most unique in college football history. Never before (and probably never again) has a QB room featured two No. 1 ranked players in the nation. 'It's probably pretty annoying having me as a backup," Manning deadpanned this spring. For his part, Sark defends his decision to stick with Ewers. Sark told CBS Sports' Josh Pate in May that he owed Ewers a lot. "First of all, Quinn Ewers decided to come to the University of Texas when we were a 5-11 football team. We owe a ton to Quinn," Sarkisian said. "Because if Quinn Ewers doesn't come, I don't know if the next five guys are coming. And if those next 5 guys don't come, I don't know if the next 10 guys are coming." And that's really the answer to why Sark didn't bench Ewers. He felt everything Texas is building started with Ewers decision to transfer to Texas from Ohio State. Will Sark ever be that loyal again? It's hard to tell. But to program outsiders who don't know that piece of information, playing Ewers over Manning didn't make much sense. 'You only have to ask Coach Sark how come you played that one instead of this one,' Spurrier said. 'Hopefully he'll say 'Because we thought he was better than that one.' Isn't that why you play one guy and not the other? Unless it was discipline, and there was no discipline or anything.' Whether Spurrier genuinely didn't know why Sark stuck with Ewers, thought the reasoning was flawed or is just trying to disrupt a growing SEC power, it still brings the questions up again. "Here's a guy that started for three years at quarterback for us," Sark told Pate. "Battled injuries all three years. Leads us to two college football playoffs. Leads us to a Big 12 championship. Leads us to an SEC Championship Game, our first year in the conference. And that's his 'legacy' here. His legacy is way bigger than just that." But Sark and Manning don't seem to pay much attention to outside noise, even from a Hall of Fame coach. The two are focused on 2025 and Ohio State on Aug. 30.
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Steve Spurrier Has Serious Doubts About Texas QB Arch Manning
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. After two years of waiting, Texas Longhorns fans are finally getting their wish — Arch Manning will be the team's starting quarterback heading into its season opener against the defending College Football Playoff national champion Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30 in Columbus. Manning showed just enough flashes last season while filling in for an injured Quinn Ewers for a handful of games to get the Longhorn fan base excited. In fact, many of them called for Ewers to be benched in favor of Manning even after returning from his abdominal injury that sidelined him for a month from mid-September to mid-October. During that span, Manning performed admirably. He completed 67.8% of his passes while throwing for 939 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions, and rushing 108 yards and four more scores. Manning also led UT to its first-ever conference win as a member of the SEC—a 35-13 blowout of Mississippi State on Sept. 28—and he won both games he started by a combined score of 86-16. But despite all of the hype surrounding the 21-year-old sophomore, Manning still has his doubters. Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns warms up before the game against the against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 21, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns warms up before the game against the against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 21, 2024 in Austin, former Florida Gators head coach Steve Spurrier among them, as the former national championship-winning coach recently shared his concerns about Manning during an appearance on the "Another Dooley Noted Podcast." "People picking Texas to win the SEC in football," Spurrier said. "They've got Arch Manning already winning the Heisman, too. And my question is, if he was this good, how come that they let Quinn Ewers play all the time last year? And he was a seventh-round pick." Spurrier also pointed out that Ewers was the 231st pick in the 2025 NFL draft, and was just 26 spots away from potentially going undrafted. He questioned if so many NFL teams weren't convinced of Ewers' pro potential, then why would he let Manning, who's viewed as the potential No. 1 overall pick in whatever year he enters the draft, sit for two seasons behind a player he was allegedly superior to. While Spurrier may not be sold on Peyton and Eli Manning's nephew, that doesn't mean everyone else feels the same. Per DraftKings, Manning is currently the betting favorite to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy with +700 odds. He leads a list with four QBs near the top—LSU's Garrett Nussmeier (+900) is second, Clemson's Cade Klubnik (+1000) is third, and Ohio State's Julian Sayin (+1500) is fifth—while Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith is fourth (+1200). For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Steve Spurrier questions Arch Manning as Heisman Trophy favorite, Texas as SEC frontrunner
Fresh off its second straight College Football Playoff semifinal appearance, Texas football enters the 2025 college football season as one of the most looked-forward-to and hyped around teams in the country. The leading contributing factor to that is Arch Manning, the presumed favorite to win the Heisman Trophy and a preseason frontrunner for No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, officially running the Longhorns offense. But as the hype surrounding Manning and Texas continues to build up, former Florida and South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier isn't so sure about those expectations. He appeared to have said that much during a recent appearance on the "Another Dooley Noted Podcast." REQUIRED READING: Five college football sleepers that could contend for national championship "Most people (are) picking Texas to win the SEC (this year). They've got Arch Manning already winning the Heisman too. My question is: If he was this good, how come they let Quinn Ewers play all the time last year? And he was a 7th-round pick," Spurrier said on the "Another Dooley Noted Podcast" on June 23. "You only have to ask Coach Sark how come you played that one instead of this one. Hopefully, he will say, because he was better than that one." Arch, a New Orleans native, is currently listed as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy according to oddsmakers on BetMGM at +600 odds. Texas has not had a Heisman Trophy winner since Ricky Williams won it in 1998. Manning, the nephew of former NFL quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning, has waited out his opportunity to take over the Longhorns offense on a full-time basis each of the last two seasons as he served as the backup to Quinn Ewers, who was taken in the seventh round of the NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins. The 6-foot-4 quarterback, however, hasn't had to sit in the passenger seat that whole time, especially this past season. Manning showed flashes of his dual-threat skill set and passing acumen in 2024 for the Longhorns, as he started two games for Texas when Ewers was out with an injury and came on in short-yardage situations late in the season. In 10 games this past season for Texas, Manning completed 67.8% of his passes for 939 yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 108 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries — an unusual sight for a member of the Manning family. In his first career start vs. UTSA on Sept. 14, Manning became the only FBS or NFL quarterback in the last 25 years to record a 75+ yard touchdown pass, a 65-yard rushing touchdown and another 50+ yard touchdown pass in the same game according to OptaStats. Manning is set to start his first game as Texas' full-time quarterback on the road at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio against defending national champion Ohio State, on Aug. 30 at noon ET. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Urban Meyer Didn't Hesitate When Naming the Most Underrated Player He Coached at Florida
There was certainly no shortage of talent on Urban Meyer's Florida teams during his six seasons with the Gators. He won two national championships with the SEC powerhouse and finished with a 65-15 record, including three seasons with a 13-1 record. On a recent episode of the "Another Dooley Noted Podcast," Meyer was asked which of his players was the most underrated, and he didn't waste much time thinking about it, considering the wealth of players who were at Florida from 2005 to 2010. Advertisement 'I think Louis Murphy. I'm a Louis Murphy fan,' Meyer said. 'I mean, you think about the biggest games he had were in the biggest (stages). The Florida State game down there, where he caught that wheel route. Then one of his greatest games of all time was that 'Bama '08 in the SEC Championship. He was dominant. And Georgia in the Cocktail Party when he did a great release on that corner.' Former Florida Gators head coach Urban Klement-USA TODAY Sports Murphy played for the Gators from 2005 to 2008. He finished his collegiate career with 77 receptions for 1,245 yards and 13 touchdowns. Murphy and the Gators won national championships during the 2006 and 2008 seasons. Other elite talents often overshadowed the 6-foot-2, 200-pound receiver. Playmakers like Percy Harvin, Andre Caldwell, Aaron Hernandez, Riley Cooper, Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey, Tim Tebow and Deshawn Wynn were all big-time players during Murphy's tenure. Advertisement Murphy was a three-star prospect in the 2005 recruiting class, according to Rivals. The St. Petersburg, Florida, native committed to the Gators over offers from Duke, Louisville, Maryland, North Carolina State and others. Murphy would be a fourth-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in the 2009 NFL draft. Over an eight-year pro career, he also played with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. He finished his career with 95 games played with 170 receptions for 2,443 yards and 11 touchdowns. Related: Urban Meyer Hails Two Big Ten Powerhouses For Adapting to New NIL Era Related: Urban Meyer Gives Unfiltered Take on Nico Iamaleava's Controversial UCLA Switch
