Steve Spurrier interjects about Arch Manning in a way only the Head Ball Coach can

Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators, namely one of the best Gators of all time, have found a bit of common ground on a tenuous issue: Arch Manning.

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Steve Spurrier, the legendary Heisman-winning quarterback and national championship-winning head coach for Florida, asked a similar question to the one former UGA quarterback Aaron Murray made waves with in the aftermath of the 2025 NFL Draft.

“Most people are picking Texas to win the SEC in football,” Spurrier said on Another Dooley Noted Podcast. “They’ve got Arch Manning already winning the Heisman, too. My question is, if he was this good how come they let Quinn Ewers play all the time last year? He was a 7th round pick?”

Spurrier’s cachet when bringing this topic up moderately unprompted (though the Head Ball Coach rarely needed prompting) is hard to ignore. One of the all-time figures in the sport of college football, Spurrier knows what it’s like to play and coach the quarterback position at a high level. And though Ewers’ play in 2024 sometimes left plenty to be desired, he was the face of the Longhorn program and the person his teammates described as the “head of the snake” for Texas’ national championship pursuits in 2023 and 2024.

The fact of the matter is that what the NFL thinks of a player is different than what the player’s head coach thinks, something the HBC made sure to mention in his expansion on the subject.

“You only have to ask Coach Sark how come you played that one instead of this one,” Spurrier said. “Hopefully he’ll say ‘because we thought he was better than that one.’ Isn’t that why you play one guy and not the other? Unless it was discipline, and there was no discipline or anything.”

Ewers was 293-for-445 in 2024 for 3472 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, also rushing for two scores. He exited the UTSA game due to injury and missed contests versus ULM and Mississippi State before starting the remaining games.

Manning had high highs standing in for Ewers in starts versus ULM and Mississippi State, two teams that combined to go 7-17. He also was given an opportunity at the peak of Ewers’ struggles in the October matchup versus Georgia.

“One guy is struggling? Give the other guy a chance,” Spurrier said.

Manning had a chance but was 3-for-6 for 19 yards, tallied -1 rushing yards, and coughed up the football leading to a Bulldogs field goal in a 30-15 loss. He filled in the rest of the way in situational packages as Sarkisian kept Ewers as the starter all the way through the end of the season.

Spurrier was no stranger to quarterback competitions. One of the more notable ones from his Gators tenure was between Rex Grossman and Brock Berlin, with Grossman eventually taking over and finishing second in Heisman voting during his second year as starter in 2001. He also knows the challenges and stresses of the position, both as a player and as a coach, and understands Sarkisian decided on Ewers because he believed No. 3 gave Texas the best chance to win.

“We let them all compete,” Spurrier said. “The one you think can play the best, let him go. If he struggles, then you put the next one in.”

His podcast appearances are a hoot. Spurrier told a story about the 1997 Florida at LSU game with Jesse Palmer at quarterback. Palmer threw a long pass, but the Gators sideline was flagged for having a coach on the field during the play. Spurrier said the ref came over to him and said while he had his foot on the field, Tigers head coach Gary DiNardo was on the field “the whole game,” and admitted that was the closest he was to getting tossed from a game. LSU won 28-21.

“Later, I found out that (ref) went to the University of Georgia,” Spurrier said. “He can’t referee Georgia games, but he can referee everybody else’s!”

Of course, it came around to golf as well. When the host wanted to start on a certain subject, Spurrier interjected and started going off about the end the Travelers Championship, which saw Keegan Bradley defeat Tommy Fleetwood and Russell Henley by one stroke at 15-under.

Spurrier also undoubtedly is aware of Manning through other means. Though they never faced off, it’s hard to think that Spurrier and his 1960s SEC contemporary and Arch’s grandfather Archie Manning haven’t crossed paths a time or two somewhere in the Southeast. Maybe they even talked about how Spurrier’s Gators were undefeated against Peyton Manning‘s Tennessee teams over a beverage at Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille in Gainesville, Fla. or at a 19th hole somewhere.

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No less opinionated at age 80, Spurrier is sure to deliver more thoughts on Manning as Texas approaches its October 4 battle in the Swamp against DJ Lagway and the Gators. But here in the thick of talkin’ season, he presented something to say about a Manning he’ll see first-hand from the stands (or suites) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.