Pat McAfee on Arch Manning beating out Quinn Ewers at Texas? Multimedia giant gives his take on Longhorns QB battle

Multimedia icon Pat McAfee discussed the Texas Longhorns quarterback battle between Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning. During a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show, the former football player gave his opinion on the situation.

He proclaimed that Quinn Ewers could be the starting quarterback and Arch Manning will redshirt this freshman season. This is definitely an interesting idea as Ewers is eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft and that could be the opening for Arch Manning to step up as the starting quarterback for Texas when they head to the Southeastern Conference.

"{The Texas Longhorns} are going to the SEC the first year that Archie would be the starter down there. The Manning boys play in the SEC."

But does Pat McAfee's idea actually make sense? Let's take a closer look at the idea and why it makes the most sense for the 2023 college football season.

Does Pat McAfee's idea make sense?

The answer is a resounding yes as Quinn Ewers is going to be the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns. This also gives Arch Manning the ability to learn how to become a college quarterback on the biggest stage with a year of preparation.

Quinn Ewers had a great season in 2022 as he went 172-of-296 (58.1% completion percentage) with 2,177 yards for 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. Not having an injury to his non-throwing shoulder throughout the year should help him develop as he only played 10 games last season.

This is his second season under Steve Sarkisian and should have a better grasp of the offense. Having Arch Manning waiting in the wings and taking a year to get used to the speed of things is going to pay dividends.

Arch Manning came to the Texas Longhorns with a lot of fanfare and is expected to be the starter in 2024. Quinn Ewers is the better college football quarterback at this point as he has the experience to dominate in the Big 12. This is not to say that Manning would have struggled here but there is a reason why Sarkisian has incredible trust in Ewers.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian did the smart move by naming Ewers as the starting quarterback early on. This eliminates the conversation and rivalry between the two players. This also creates the ability for the offense to understand who they need to create the chemistry with. Manning also gets another year of eligibility if he decides to stay in college.

Pat McAfee has an incredible football mind as he is a former All-Pro punter and media icon. This move of starting Ewers and redshirting Manning seems to be the best idea.