Josh Pate praises Steve Sarkisian's loyalty towards Quinn Ewers despite availability of Arch Manning as a replacement

Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers has generated a lot of attention this season. He has received attention for his strong play on the field, but there has also been a lot of attention around him because some media members have advocated for the Longhorns to play backup Arch Manning instead.

However, through all of it, head coach Steve Sarkisian has publically shown his loyalty to Quinn Ewers. He has indicated several times that this is Ewers' team.

On Friday, analyst Josh Pate released an episode of the "Josh Pate's College Football Show." On the episode, Pate talked about the Peach Bowl between the Texas Longhorns and the Arizona State Sun Devils on Wednesday, which the Longhorns won 39-31 in double overtime. He admitted that while he has questioned the lack of use of Arch Manning, he gives credit to Sarkisian for staying loyal to Ewers (starts at 2:44).

"I have questioned the lack of use of Arch Manning, but there's a reason Sark's loyal to that guy," Pate said. "He thinks he gives him the best chance to win and I will guarantee you, Sark's probably sitting there thinking I have one guy I would trust to make that throw and it's the guy who just made the throw."

"So, he needed it, they needed every bit of it. I can't believe this game went to overtime. I really can't believe it. It's the kind of game where you think they might make them sweat a little bit, but there's no way they'll actually coming back. Oh what's that, they just came back, oh it's tied. Unbelievable."

Quinn Ewers could need to transfer if he wants to come back to college next season

While Steve Sarkisian has stayed loyal to Quinn Ewers this season, reports indicate that he will not be the starting quarterback next year. The Texas Longhorns have reportedly made it known that Arch Manning will be the starter next year unless something drastic happens.

There is a decent chance that Ewers will declare for the 2025 NFL draft, especially if he improves his draft stock in the final college football playoff games. However, if he opts to come back, he could need to enter the transfer portal. He will have several suitors as one unidentified team is prepared to make a reported $6 million NIL deal to lure him back to college.

Ewers and the Longhorns will play their semifinal matchup against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.