Greg McElroy: Benching Quinn Ewers for Arch Manning would be 'disadvantageous' for Texas

Greg McElroy believes Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns must keep their belief in Quinn Ewers during their College Football Playoff run, and he’s using the movie Mean Girls to drive his point home.

Some think Arch Manning could takeover as the Texas starting quarterback if Ewers falters during the Longhorns’ clash with the Clemson Tigers on Saturday afternoon. During an appearance on Get Up, McElroy stated that Sarkisian needs to ride out this run with Ewers, before giving Manning the keys to the car in 2025.

“I’ve been saying this for a while. I have a younger sister, and there was a movie that she watched religiously when we were a little bit younger. It’s a movie called Mean Girls. There’s a moment in the Mean Girls movie where they say, ‘Stop trying to make fetch happen.’ That’s kind of what I’m going to say about this Arch thing,” McElroy stated. “Let’s stop trying to make Arch into his uncles right now. He’ll get there. He’s going to be a great player in time. I’m a real believer in his upside. I’m a believer in his mobility. I think he could have a package in this system, seriously. I think, in this Playoff, it would not be surprising, in the red-zone, if he was on the field.

“But being on the field for anything more than the situational play right now, I think, would be disadvantageous to an offense that’s likely going to have to throw their way to victory. You look at the teams that they’re likely to face between now and the national championship, they’re going to have to throw it to win the national championship. So, I think Arch is going to be a great player situationally, but at this point, Quinn’s your guy, and should hopefully take you to the promise land, if you’re a Longhorns fan.”

While McElroy’s plan sounds all well and good in theory, it remains to be seen how Sarkisian will react if Texas finds themselves down at any point during their CFP run. Nick Saban wasn’t afraid to make the switch from Jalen Hurts to Tua Tagovailoa during the national title game, and it paid off handsomely for Alabama. That’s something that’ll be in the back of Sarkisian’s mind.

It remains to be seen how Texas fares, but Steve Sarkisian recognizes the expectations placed upon his shoulders at the moment. Whether it’s Quinn Ewers or Arch Manning at quarterback, the Longhorns are expecting to hoist the trophy at the end of it all.