Texas HC Steve Sarkisian catches bizarre flak for handling of Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning
Sometimes you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian likely felt that way in 2024 as he balanced prioritizing a College Football Playoff run with the future of the team. Handing the keys to an inexperienced prodigy over anoft-injured and struggling veteran Quinn Ewers wasn't an easy call […]
Sometimes you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian likely felt that way in 2024 as he balanced prioritizing a College Football Playoff run with the future of the team. Handing the keys to an inexperienced prodigy over anoft-injured and struggling veteran Quinn Ewers wasn't an easy call at the time.
It's easy to say in hindsight that the quarterback who has seen his 2025 NFL Draft stock nosedive might not have been the best man under center. However, Sarkisian deserves grace for sticking with someone who fought hard to get back onto the field after getting banged up multiple times
Still, that didn't stop Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports from saying Sarkisian was "too respectful" of Ewers in 2024.
"We didn't see much of Arch last year, but we saw enough to justify the immense recruiting hype. Listen, you may think I have him too high, but I felt all last season that Texas wasn't using him as much as it should've been; Steve Sarkisian was being too respectful to Quinn Ewers. I fully believe giving Manning the keys to the Texas offense in 2025 will lead to a better product than the one we saw in 2024, and that team got to the CFP semis," Fornelli wrote.
Fornelli ranked Arch Manning as the country's third-best quarterback entering 2025 after attempting 90 passes and running the ball 25 times. Manning looked good and he clearly has NFL potential, but it's not as if playing the legacy recruit guaranteed more success than what Ewers accomplished.
Ranking Manning behind Clemson's Cade Klubnik and Penn State's Drew Allar is one spot higher than where On3's Andy Staples has him. Both spots are aggressive given his lack of experience.
Staples' list is even zanier, though.
While I get what Fornelli was saying because Ewers was clearly limited and ran into repeated issues against pressure and couldn't elevate the Longhorns when he needed, this was an unnecessary shot at Sarkisian doing his best with a difficult situation.
