Arch Manning has a 'good chance' to beat out Maalik Murphy as backup quarterback

Some think Arch Manning won’t be seeing the field during his first season with the Texas Longhorns, but don’t group On3’s Andy Staples into that column.

While Quinn Ewers will be the starting quarterback for Steve Sarkisian as he enters a pivotal season with Texas, Staples joined Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take to dish on who he believes Ewers’ backup will be, and he thinks Manning has a good shot at unseating Maalik Murphy for the job.

“Before we go too far with the Maalik Murphy, if Quinn were to go down, or Quinn were to have problems, you might see Arch,” theorized Staples. “I think there’s a good chance.”

That’s not simply because of the hype either. Staples is a believer in Manning, and he thinks he has a chance to earn the job off of merit, not his last name.

“I don’t even think it’s that. I think they’ll play whoever they think is better,” Staples added, regarding the notion that Texas fans will be clamoring for Manning. “You know, the one thing with Arch is, they’re not going to pressure, like the family and that, they’re not going to pressure anybody to play him. They seemed to go in with a pretty mature plan for him, and are perfectly accepting if he needs a year or so to win that job. But maybe he develops faster, and they feel like he’s ready.

“So that one, I’ll be curious to see if Sark announces who the backup is, and who the third guy is. But you know, you saw Quinn get hurt in the Alabama game, so Game 2 last year, and forced Hudson Card to play. So I will be very curious to see who goes in second if something happens with Quinn Ewers.”

Regardless, Manning has a bright future at Texas, even if he doesn’t realize it completely in 2023. While he’s learning behind Ewers at the moment, he still has a ways to go under Sarkisian’s tutelage, and will be ready to lead the Longhorns into the SEC in 2024.

However, a moment like the one that came to the aforementioned Hudson Card could come his way during his freshman season. If his number is called upon to lead Texas to victory in a big spot, he’ll have to make sure he’s ready.

Time will tell if it comes to that or not, but it’s fascinating to think about the possibility. Arch Manning has a bright future in Austin, and we could see some glimpse of it in 2023.