The Texas Longhorns entered the season with national title expectations, but consecutive losses to the Oklahoma Sooners and Florida Gators have the program’s College Football Playoff chances on thin ice, and quarterback Arch Manning has been at the center of the struggles.
In a column for Bleacher Report, Adam Kramer argued that it might be time for Manning and Texas to part ways.
“This would be best for Manning; it would also make sense for Texas,” Kramer wrote. “This once-promising football marriage has lost its luster. And there’s no salvaging it now,” Kramer wrote.
Kramer isn’t alone, either. NFL draft analyst Todd McShay has also floated the possibility of Arch returning to college and transferring rather than entering the transfer portal.
“Arch Manning — Return. Explore a transfer? — There’s still time to turn this season around. I’m more bullish on his NFL future than the social media doom suggests, but another college season currently looks like his best path,” McShay posted on X.
It would appear that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. On a recent episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast, The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero revealed what someone who has known Manning for a long time believes next year has in store for the young quarterback.
“I texted one person who’s known Arch (Manning) a long time earlier tonight, and I said, ‘Where do you see Arch in 2027?’ And his response was Ole Miss,” Pelissero said.
For now, Manning is still the Longhorns quarterback, and his head coach, Steve Sarkisian, has made it clear what he and the program need from the offense’s leader.
“I think that somebody texted me today that we lost the ‘Aw Shucks’ kid and we created something else. I don’t know if we lost him,” Sarkisian said. “We created this. We did. All of us. Y’all included. Me. The whole thing, right. Everybody on ESPN, we’ve created this. And so we’ll see what comes out of it.
“But he’s edgy right now. And honestly, I appreciate that about him. At some point, he’s gotta fight back,” Sarkisian said. “And the best way for him to fight back is going out and playing really good football with his teammates and enjoy playing football with his teammates. And so I’m looking forward to watching him compete Saturday night.”
Ironically, Texas will face Ole Miss in primetime on Saturday night.
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