Steve Sarkisian has a choice at quarterback this week, but if you follow the Texas program and listen to what people are saying, it's a choice the Longhorns coach is not sweating.
Quinn Ewers is healthy, and he will return to his QB1 status as No. 1 Texas faces No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry game on Saturday. Arch Manning, the QB all of Football America is most fascinated with, will return to backup duty after two-plus games of meaningful action and thrilling plays.
Is this the right decision? Ewers was playing at a Heisman level prior to his injury, with a quarterback ranking of 175.2 that included a masterful performance against an elite defense at Michigan in Week 2. But when Manning replaced Ewers during the UTSA game in Week 3, all of Manning’s potential that folks in Austin have been whispering about behind the scenes was on full display, and now the nephew of Peyton and Eli is second in the nation in passer rating (200.5), less than one point behind leader Jalen Milroe of Alabama.
To get a full evaluation of Ewers and Manning, Sporting News turned to Quincy Avery, the president of QB Takeover. Avery has been in the quarterback business a long time, and the Atlanta-based trainer has worked with current NFL quarterbacks Justin Fields, Deshaun Watson, C.J. Stroud, Geno Smith, and Jalen Hurts, among others.
Avery has not worked with Ewers or Manning specifically, but he’s seen plenty of them and followed their careers from high school on. Here's how Avery sees the two Longhorns quarterbacks.
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Quincy Avery on Quinn Ewers
Avery said he is excited about the development Ewers has shown from his quick stint at Ohio State out of high school to his three years at Texas.
“When he got to college, Ohio State and then Texas, he was a little bit immature,” Avery said. “He was doing things a little earlier than he should. Getting to school early — all those different things — and he wasn’t ready for the situation. Being around [Texas coach Steve Sarkisian] as a quarterback coach and mentor, just to allow him to mature.
“He really throws with anticipation. He almost plays at an NFL level. He’s able to command an offense. It is really impressive to see how Quinn Ewers operates play-in and play-out. He keeps his team out of trouble.”
In the past two seasons, Ewers has shown the ability to play his best against the top competition. In his five biggest games in 2023 and 2024 — against Alabama, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State (Big 12 championship), Washington (Sugar Bowl), and Michigan — Ewers has completed 69 percent of his passes and averaged 342 yards passing per game with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. Texas went 3-2 in those games and none were at home.
“That’s what any coach wants, when your best is required, you can perform,” Avery said. “That’s what Quinn has been able to do against the best competition.”
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Quincy Avery on Arch Manning
Avery was not part of the group of analysts who thought Manning was the No. 1 quarterback in his class when he was playing at Isidore Newman High School in Louisiana. He was skeptical Manning could make the jump up in competition after not being overly tested in his classification.
“Arch has far exceeded my expectations,” Avery said. “I watched him in high school, and he played against a lot of guys that didn’t have the talent to play at the level he was going to play at. We didn’t really see him against top-tier competition. I didn’t say glowing things about him when he was in high school. I wasn’t like a lot of people saying, ‘he’s the No. 1 quarterback coming out of high school.’ But watching him play now, they were right. He is really good, he’s been able to pick up the speed.”
Manning has adjusted to the speed of the college game, and he even showed off his own speed with a 67-yard run on a read-option against UTSA in Week 3.
ARCH MANNING TAKES IT 67 YARDS TO THE HOUSE WITH HIS LEGS 😱
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 15, 2024
It's the longest rush by a Texas QB since Vince Young in 2005. pic.twitter.com/AjU9uSli2c
“He’s a far better athlete than I could have ever anticipated,” Avery said. “You saw him playing against the guys he was playing against. You're like, ‘Well, I think it's just who he's playing against, right? He may not be the athlete that we think he is.’ But no, once he got out on the field, he is every bit the athlete.”
Manning has completed 55-of-78 passes (71 percent) for 901 yards and nine touchdowns to go along with two interceptions in relief of Ewers. He has also run for three touchdowns. Avery said it is clear he understands what the offense is trying to do and credits watching Ewers from the bench last season as a big reason he has been able to perform as well as he has this year.
“That year of sitting was phenomenal for his growth,” Avery said. “A lot of the ways we see Patrick Mahomes, Patrick Mahomes was talented enough but didn’t necessarily have the fundamentals necessary to play in the NFL when he got there.
“Arch is the exact opposite. We didn’t know if he was talented enough to get on the field when he first got there, but he’s got all the fundamentals. [By sitting], he gets to get brought up to speed, he gets to play against guys at Texas every day in practice, and now when we see him in the game — he’s who we want to see. Not sure he was ready right away, but we know he’s ready now.”
Arch Manning vs. Quinn Ewers
Avery said Manning is more of a running threat than Ewers, who is mobile and can extend plays but is not a quarterback you are going to design a running play for. Manning can make the defense account for him in the box as a running threat.
Manning also likes to throw it downfield more than Ewers, but that isn’t a negative for Ewers, according to Avery.
“The thing about Quinn that’s the most impressive to me now is he does have the arm talent to make the deep throws, but he's become comfortable and committed to taking completions and letting the deep throws happen,” Avery said. “And that's what is gonna allow him to be one of the first quarterbacks selected in the draft.”
Avery likes Manning’s aggressiveness with the deep pass, something uncles Peyton and Eli didn’t always utilize.
“Unlike his uncles, really loves to push the ball down the field, and he's super aggressive,” Avery said. “It's cool. He's like a supercharged version of his uncles. And I hope we hope we get that in the future.”
| Comp. | Att. | Yds | TD | INT | Rush TDs | |
| Ewers | 58 | 71 | 691 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Manning | 55 | 78 | 901 | 9 | 2 | 3 |
Who should start moving forward?
Texas faces Oklahoma and Georgia over the next two weeks as it tries to take control of the SEC race and maintain its No. 1 ranking. Avery says Ewers is the right choice now that he’s recovered from his oblique injury.
“What Arch has done is nothing short of phenomenal. As a young quarterback, you can’t ask any more,” Avery said. “To ask for him to start over Quinn in this situation is crazy. Quinn has owned the locker room and earned the trust of his teammates. He’s done it at the highest level against the best competition. Not that Arch isn’t going to be able to do that, but you know what you’ve got in terms of Quinn.
“It is best for Texas to have Quinn Ewers as their starting quarterback. Not only for the team right now, because I think Quinn does make them a better ball club just because of how he operates now, consistently, and he's done it against the best competition, but it's gonna help out the Texas program for the long haul in terms of recruiting quarterbacks, showing people how consistent you can be and that you're not swayed by the media or outside influences.
Quinn should start the rest of the year as long as he is healthy and keeps doing what he’s doing.”
