Klatt: Arch Manning symbolizes Texas’ depth, but won’t create QB controversy

No. 1 Texas’ 56-7 win over UTSA might be one of the more intriguing blowout wins by a power conference school against a non-power program in recent memory.

A week after becoming the favorite to win the Heisman, Quinn Ewers went down in the second quarter due to an abdominal strain. Even with Ewers’ absence, Saturday’s result was really never in doubt.

Entering the season, I felt Texas was incredibly deep, which was one of the reasons why I felt it was such an elite team. The thought was further solidified after I prepared for Texas’ matchup against Michigan in Week 2 and I saw what it did in its 31-13 triumph in Ann Arbor.

I was so impressed with Texas’ depth in that game — and part of that impressive depth includes its backup quarterback: Arch Manning. 

Prior to Saturday, a lot of our thoughts about Manning were assumptions. We all thought Manning, who was 247 Sports’ No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2023, was going to be good, partly because of his last name. He looked good in some spring practices and in mop-up duty since he arrived in Austin in 2023, causing some of us to say, “Yeah, we think it looks good.” 

But we didn’t know for certain just how good he actually was.

We finally got a chance to see just how good Manning is on Saturday, when he completed nine of 12 passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns. He had the entire offense at his disposal, with Steve Sarkisian being ultra-aggressive in calling plays. We saw him get the opportunity to run along the edge, too.

Manning’s performance solidified that Texas is one of the best teams in the country. In fact, the Longhorns are No. 1 in my most recent top 10 ranking, breaking a three-way tie with Ohio State and Georgia in last week’s poll. They’ve done more on the field than anyone else in the country to this point in the season, which is why I gave them some separation at the top. The Associated Press Poll did the same thing. Granted, I don’t love being in unison with the AP Top 25 voters, but it’s the first time since 2008 that it’s had Texas at No. 1.

(For more on my top 10, you can check out my weekly rankings here or listen to “The Joel Klatt Show” each Monday.)

As we’re still in the early stages of the first season of the expanded conferences and College Football Playoff, we believe that it’s going to take more depth than usual to get through the year. Some teams might have to play as many as 17 games this season in order to win the national championship, which is by far the most we’ve ever asked a team to play in a season.

With the schedule potentially being that long for teams like Texas, it’s unrealistic to think that it won’t have injuries along the way. In fact, many teams will have to deal with an injury at quarterback at some point during the season. It’s very rare for teams, even the great ones, to only have one quarterback play every single significant snap during the season.

Ewers also has a bit of an injury history since he arrived in Texas in 2022. He suffered the collarbone injury during the loss against Alabama that season. He injured his shoulder last season, causing him to miss two games. So, it felt like Manning was going to have to play at some point.

Saturday not only solidified that Texas is deep and will be just fine if Ewers misses significant time, but it also might have created the argument that Manning is the most talented quarterback in Austin. Ewers clearly has the experience edge over Manning, but you could argue that Texas might not miss a beat without its starting quarterback — one who I believe will be a Heisman finalist later this season.

What we saw from Manning was great, particularly his 67-yard touchdown run. I didn’t think he had that in him. That was a pretty special play, and it was the longest touchdown run by a Texas quarterback since Vince Young. That’s saying something, because Colt McCoy was damn good. 

We’ve got all of these GPS trackers now that can show us just how fast players are running at certain points when they’re on the field. Manning basically hit 21 mph on his touchdown run. If you’re hitting 21 mph, you’re fast. Some of the quickest players can reach 22 or 22.5 mph. Manning reaching the speed he did blew my mind. That’s fast fast. Not, “Oh, he can run,” speed, but actually real fast speed. We saw his uncle, Peyton Manning, run around like Bambi, so we didn’t think he had that speed in him.

Texas might need more out of Manning in the coming weeks depending on Ewers’ injury status. If that’s the case, Sarkisian still has to be feeling good, even if Texas is without its starting quarterback for multiple games. The Longhorns are deep on the defensive line and at wide receiver. This is really an incredible team.

Ewers is currently listed as week-to-week with his injury. That allows Sarkisian to play the situation week-to-week and not have to rush Ewers back, making sure he’s completely healthy as Texas faces Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State before playing Oklahoma after its bye week. That’s three weeks to get Ewers healthy before the Red River game, with the matchup against Georgia coming the following week.

Of course, Ewers sitting for that long, and Manning possibly playing well, could lead some to wonder if there could be a quarterback controversy at Texas. I don’t think this will turn into a quarterback controversy, although some people might think it could end up that way.

Let’s face it, a lot of people around Texas love to have an opinion. I’m glad that Sarkisian is unwavering in outsiders’ opinions about him or his program. He’s very comfortable in his own skin and it will pay dividends in this situation because there will be noise. If Ewers struggles for just even a quarter against Oklahoma, we know there are going to be calls to put in Manning.

For those who might do that, relax. Sarkisian gets to ease Ewers back to full health and evaluate the situation. If Ewers needs more time, or he isn’t effective, Sarkisian has a legitimate option at backup.

This is a win-win situation for the Longhorns, if Sarkisian handles it correctly. If he’s able to navigate the quarterback situation well, this team will certainly be where I expect them to be: in the national championship game. Texas has only exceeded expectations so far since I predicted it to make the title game and that it has a high-quality backup quarterback. 

Joel Klatt is FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst and the host of the podcast “The Joel Klatt Show.” Follow him at @joelklatt and subscribe to the “Joel Klatt Show” on YouTube.

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