Former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel said "everyone's eyes kind of opened up a little bit" after Arch Manning's performance on Saturday, but also that there should be no quarterback controversy in Austin once Quinn Ewers recovers from his injury.
Manziel appeared on "Johnny's Intangibles," his regular weekly spot on Action Network's BBOC YouTube channel with host Collin Wilson, and broke down the redshirt freshman's highlight-filled day. He was particularly impressed with the 67-yard touchdown run Manning broke loose for on his third play after entering the game for the injured Ewers.
"What we saw on that play has a lot to do with just being a good football player," said Manziel, who won the Heisman Trophy for Texas A&M as a redshirt freshman in 2012." "You see the defensive lineman absolutely bites and takes off after the running back, but even after that when he's 10 or 15 yards down the field he still has a guy he has to make miss. Being able to do that is not something we've seen from this Texas offense a lot."
While the feat of athleticism was impressive, but really stood out to Manziel was that Manning — who is the nephew of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning — made the right read with so little experience.
"For Arch to come in and do what he did that early — read the play to perfection and just outrace everyone to the end zone — I think it's something that when you're watching on Saturday, everyone's eyes kind of opened up a little bit," Manziel said. "It's not something we're used to seeing. Especially with the name Manning on the jersey."
Manning entered Saturday's 56-7 win over UTSA in the second quarter when Ewers, the incumbent starter and a Heisman Trophy favorite, was injured with what head coach Steve Sarkisian later said was a strained oblique. Manning finished the day 9-for-12 for 223 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Sarkesian told reporters on Monday that Ewers was "day-to-day" and that he was considered questionable for this Saturday's game against UL Monroe. If he is unable to go, Manning would make his first career start, and while many are clamoring for the former five-star recruit to take over the job full time — even once Ewers is back to full health — Manziel isn't buying it.
"I think obviously what he's done the last few years there, and even this year, this is very much still Quinn's job," Manziel said. "He's just got to get healthy. … ULM and UTSA are games where Quinn has the ability to get healthy and make sure he gets himself right. Arch will definitely love the reps he's going to get, but I don't see this as being a long-term thing."
The Longhorns leapfrogged fellow SEC school Georgia — which struggled in a 14-13 win over Kentucky on Saturday — as the No. 1 team in the country in the latest AP Top 25 poll that was released on Sunday.
Texas plays the Sun Belt Conference's UL Monroe in Austin on Saturday and then hosts Mississippi State, which is expected to be among the worst teams in the SEC this year, on Sept. 28 before their bye week. After that, the schedule gets considerably tougher, including the Red River Rivalry game against Oklahoma on Oct. 12 at a neutral site in Dallas followed by a home game against the aforementioned No. 2-ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Oct. 19.
