AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the first time he was pressed into action, Arch Manning delivered.
Manning stepped in for an injured Quinn Ewers against UTSA and lit it up, accounting for five touchdowns in a 56-7 romp. Manning scored on his first play from scrimmage, a 19-yard pass to DeAndre Moore with 12:10 left in the second quarter, and then followed it with a 67-yard run on a zone read play for a score, the longest touchdown run by a Texas quarterback since Vince Young broke an 80-yarder in 2005.
The hype for Manning, already near-boiling, exploded after the performance. The betting odds for him to win the Heisman Trophy moved significantly, he's now at +1600 to win according to BetMGM, seventh on the sportsbook's list, and just about everyone who uses X (formerly Twitter) and likes football is calling for him to start.
But as Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has said all along, once Ewers is healthy, Ewers is QB1. A situation like when Tom Brady ousted Drew Bledsoe as the Patriots' starting quarterback after an injury isn't likely.
"We're going to do everything we can to get him healthy as quickly as possible," Sarkisian said about Ewers after the game. It's a muscle strain, so there aren't fractures or other structural damage to worry about. Ewers missed two games each of the past two seasons with shoulder injuries, but Maalik Murphy was the backup last season while Manning was No. 3 on the depth chart. All the other times Manning came into the game was Sarkisian's choice, not necessity.
If Ewers can't go against Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, that's fine. With the way Manning performed, there's no reason for the Longhorns to rush Ewers back. The team has confidence that Manning can get the job done.
"He prepares like the starter and does a great job throughout the week asking questions when it comes to protections and run schemes," Longhorns center Jake Majors said. "At the end of the day, he's just a ballplayer. He does a great job using his athleticism."
Sarkisian said one of Manning's best attributes is how humble he is. He doesn't expect anything to be handed to him and there's no sense of entitlement even if the name on his jersey is essentially one of football royalty.
"He's just a normal guy who plays quarterback for the University of Texas," Sarkisian said. "The name on the back of his jersey is one thing, but who he is as a teammate I think is another. He wants to play really good for the guys around him. If he goes in there, he wants to make sure we keep moving the football because they're counting on him."
Manning said he felt some nerves when he went in. It was the first time he had to play due to an injury, not just because it was a blowout and Sarkisian wanted to get him some snaps. The easiest way to calm nerves, apparently, is to throw a touchdown on the first play.
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"Sark drew up a first good play, and it felt good to score on the first play," Manning said. "Coach (AJ) Milwee instills in me that I have to be ready every week for when my number is called, to help this team win games, and that's what I tried to do tonight. There's a lot to improve on and grow from, but I'm glad I got to get in there and get hit again."
Like a seasoned veteran, he's already deflecting credit to everyone around him, too.
"It helps when you have great players around you and good coaches," he said. "Isaiah Bond, Ryan Wingo, the O-line, they all played really well and made it easier for me."
Manning's development behind Ewers was once considered the norm, but now with instant gratification brought on by the transfer portal, it's becoming less common. Everyone seems to be looking for greener pastures if they don't take the most snaps, but not Manning. He said he needed the time to develop when asked if he would have been as comfortable in this same situation last year.
"Probably not, no," he said with a laugh and smile. "I would not have been as comfortable, for sure."
