Tim Tebow offers impression of Arch Manning ahead of first career start

Tim Tebow was part of one of the most successful two-quarterback deployments in college football history. Tebow, at the time dubbed as “the chosen one,” helicoptered into key packages, especially in the red zone, and racked up the most rushing touchdowns and second-most rushing attempts on a national-title-winning Florida team that was also quarterbacked by fourth-year starter Chris Leak.

Tebow, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and another national championship in 2008, was already in the spotlight during the 2006 season, while Leak much more quietly threw for close to 3,000 yards and 23 touchdowns that year.

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Top-ranked Texas finds itself in a different but not totally dissimilar situation this season with third-year starting quarterback Quinn Ewers and redshirt freshman backup Arch Manning.

Whereas Leak went undrafted, Ewers is a first-round NFL Draft prospect. Plus, Manning — while significantly more athletic than his uncles Peyton and Eli — isn’t the same bruising dual threat as Tebow. And it’s important to mention, too, that both Ewers and Manning were the top overall prospects in their respective recruiting classes, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

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But there’s no denying the hype around Manning, who currently commands the fourth-highest On3 NIL valuation in the country and is tied to football royalty.

And with Ewers suffering an oblique strain last week against UTSA and now being week-to-week, Manning is now making his first career start Saturday versus Louisiana-Monroe. He’s doing so a week removed from scoring five total touchdowns — one on a jaw-dropping 67-yard run — in place of the injured Ewers in a 56-7 win over UTSA.

Tebow joined “The Paul Finebaum Show” Friday to share his perspective on the situation and offer his opinion on how Manning will fare in his first career start.

“I think the kid is doing a great job,” Tebow said. “I love the way he’s carried himself, just with so much poise, the confidence. Just not making it about him, making it about the school, his teammates, you have to be so impressed with what he did.

“But I also think it’s important to be very clear that Quinn is one of the best players in the country, and it is his team this year. Now, do they have the best quarterback room in the country? Probably. Is he one of the best backups in the country? No doubt. Could he be starting on a lot of teams? Absolutely. But Quinn is going to be a first-round draft pick. He’s got a chance to lead this team. They’re No. 1 in the country because they have a lot of depth, but also because Quinn Ewers is a stud.”

Ewers piloted Texas to its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance last season and was one play away from taking the Longhorns to the national title game.

He completed 69% of his passes, threw for 3,479 yards and posted a 22:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio last year, logging 300 or more passing yards six times, including in both the Big 12 Championship and the Sugar Bowl CFP semifinal. He also rushed for five touchdowns on the year.

In 2023, Ewers led Texas to a win at Alabama. In 2024, he’s already led Texas to a win at Michigan. He was the Heisman favorite entering Week 3.

Now Ewers is sidelined, and Manning is the starter.

Tebow is confident the second-year Longhorns signal caller will enjoy success against ULM, except Tebow’s also not losing sight of the fact that Ewers is at the heart of this Texas team.