Sorry Arch: Quinn Ewers' NFL Draft decision has Manning waiting another year at Texas

The succession plan in the Texas quarterback room pivoted midway through this past season. It had everything to do with starter Quinn Ewers succumbing to injury mid-season for the second year in a row. It forced his former backup Maalik Murphy, now playing for Manny Diaz at Duke, into action. Not until the rivalry game vs. Texas Tech did true freshman Arch Manning get any sort of playing time.

Manning carries with him a famous last name and a former five-star rating. Ewers had the latter too, as did fellow 2023 five-star Malachi Nelson, who left USC after only one season for ... Boise State... The whole point in Manning committing to Texas was that he would be using 2023 as a redshirt season to learn the ropes from Ewers before he turned pro. Well, Ewers is coming back to school.

This is absolutely the right call for Ewers. He will be able to cross that arbitrary threshold of necessary number of starts required by a quarterback before he is deemed ready to turn pro. It is not an exact science, but you need about two full years' worth of starts in this day and age of college football to truly be ready for the speed of the NFL game. Manning may not get his first start until 2025 now.

Here is Ewers' message to Longhorn Nation about him returning to Austin for one last ride.

Not to say that it would serve Manning to enter the transfer portal, but he is riding pine at Texas again.

Quinn Ewers' Texas return may force Arch Manning to make a decision

Look. If I were Manning, I would stay put. You already play for a team that is a national title contender, as illustrated by Texas making the final-four team College Football Playoff for the first time ever this past season. The Longhorns may be joining a new league, but the SEC will be one without Nick Saban coaching in it going forward at Alabama. This will change the calculus big time entering next season.

Given how injury-prone Ewers has been over the last two years at Texas, Manning should know that he is only one play away from being forced into action. Should he make the most of his opportunity, it could be enough to force Ewers out for good. Essentially, the best opportunity for him to keep growing his brand and continue to improve as a college player is to keep on keeping on over at Texas.

The biggest reason why Ewers had to come back is that he was not going to be a top-six quarterback taken this spring. There are upwards of six guys with first-round grades, and Ewers is not yet one of them. If he balls out at Texas during his senior season next year, he could potentially be the first player off the board. As for Manning, he must trust the process, be patient and find ways to improve.

The only real downside with Ewers returning is Manning's overall stock has taken quite a big hit here.