“It's going to take a lot more”: Paul Finebaum weighs in on Arch Manning’s odds of winning the Heisman Trophy compared to Quinn Ewers
Arch Manning stepped in as the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns after Quinn Ewers exited Saturday night's game against UTSA due to an abdominal injury. Ewers was later diagnosed with a strained muscle.
Manning wasted no time making an impact. On his first drive, he tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Moore Jr. and followed it up with an explosive 67-yard TD. Even though he played for less than two quarters, Manning completed nine of 12 passes for 223 yards, four touchdowns, and added a rushing TD.
On ESPN’s Get Up, Mike Greenberg and Paul Finebaum discussed whether Manning should keep the starting job over Ewers, and Finebaum weighed in on Manning’s Heisman Trophy odds.
“Arch Manning looked unbelievable,” Finebaum said. “I realized it was a scrub game, but he has the DNA, he has the pedigree. And I think Arch Manning is capable of leading this team as Quinn Ewers is."
When asked about Manning’s Heisman chances, Finebaum said:
“Well, other than maybe Peyton and Eli doing the calculating, I don't know how you could. Ultimately, that is not realistic. Quinn Ewers will be back, and he will get the start whenever he is healthy.”
“I don't think Heisman voters are going to simply go to Arch Manning because of the name. I like him very much. I've already said that. But it's going to take a lot more.”
On the preseason Heisman favorite being benched, Finebaum said:
“Can you imagine the original Heisman favorite for this season getting pulled in favor of someone else? That happened a couple of years ago in Oklahoma when Caleb Williams came in for Spencer Rattler."
Steve Sarkisian compared Arch Manning to Jake Locker
When Quinn Ewers left last weekend’s game with an oblique injury, it gave college football fans something to buzz about. Arch Manning, the top recruit from the 2023 class with a name that echoes through football history, finally got his moment.
Coach Steve Sarkisian even compared Manning to Jake Locker, a former first-round NFL pick Sarkisian coached in Washington.
"He was a physical guy like Arch, really put together well, but he was a real runner and at that time, we weren't very good, so I had to run him and it probably wasn't fair to him," Sarkisian said. "He got beat up some along the way."
Locker became a Washington Huskies legend and was later drafted 8th overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2011 NFL draft.