Arch Manning praises Quinn Ewers, jokes about hype as backup: 'He handled it like a pro'

Ahead of Quinn Ewers’ second season at Texas, the Longhorns landed the biggest fish on the recruiting trail. Top-rated quarterback Arch Manning signed with the program, meaning one of the biggest names in football headed to Austin.

Manning sat third on Texas’ depth chart as a true freshman and later served as the primary backup last year after Ewers opted to return for one more go-round. Of course, the noise was still loud around Manning, though Ewers held on to the starting role even after coming back from injury.

As he reflected on the last two seasons, Manning praised the way Ewers handled everything. In fact, Manning joked about what it was like having someone with his last name – not to mention the potential – as a backup.

“I learned a lot from Quinn,” Manning said Tuesday at SEC Media Days. “Having two years, you spend every day together, so you get pretty close. He handled everything like a pro.

“I said earlier, it’s probably not fun having me as the backup, but he handled it like a pro – whether it was media or taking care of his body and film study, he was a pro and still a friend to this day. I still ask him for advice.”

Quinn Ewers: Arch Manning and I are ‘good buddies’

Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning come from similar recruiting backgrounds. They were both Five Star Plus+ recruits, meaning they were rated as five-stars by every major recruiting service. But Manning had a different level of attention considering his family’s history in football. He’s not only the grandson of Archie, but the nephew of Peyton and Eli.

All the while, Ewers stayed the course, leading Texas to back-to-back College Football Playoff semifinal appearances. While there were jokes about the “backup” in Austin through his Dr Pepper commercials, there was no animosity between the two quarterbacks.

Speaking with On3 earlier this offseason, Ewers said he and Manning built a strong relationship. Now with the Miami Dolphins, he’s excited to see what Texas’ new starter does.

“He’s great. He’s a good kid,” Ewers told On3 from the NFLPA Rookie Premiere in Los Angeles. “He was definitely fun to have in the quarterback room. We’re good buddies.

“I’m super excited to see what he does. He’s a hard-working kid, he’s a hard studier. He’s going to set himself up to be as successful as he wants to be, and I think he’s got a chance to go do exactly that and continue on living out what we built at Texas.”