Arch Manning Says Media Attention was ‘Pretty Annoying’ for Quinn Ewers
Even before he stepped foot on campus, Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning was an immediate media darling.
After all, it’s easy to achieve that status when he’s not only by far the best recruit in the 2023 class, but also the related to three former NFL stars. So, he was pretty much guaranteed to attract a ton of attention.
Keep in mind, he was a backup during that entire time. Quinn Ewers was the starter and led the Longhorns to back-to-back College Football Playoff semifinal appearances, and while he received a good deal of attention as well, the noise surrounding Manning was almost overwhelming.
With Ewers now now off to the NFL, Manning, who’s now taking over as the Longhorns’ starter, showed his appreciation for his mentor despite the media distractions.
“He’s just been so good to me over the years, it’s probably pretty annoying having me as a backup, just with all the media stuff,” Manning told reporters after Thursday’s practice. “But he handled it like a champ.”
It may be easy to look at all the media attention, as well as the constant barrage of fans calling for Manning to replace Ewers as the Longhorns starter, as signs of a divide between the two signal-callers, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Manning has repeatedly shared his appreciation for his predecessor, and Ewers has returned the favor on numerous occasions as well. Even with Ewers entering the next chapter of his career, they’ll remain close friends for many years to come.
Going a step further, it seems that Manning’s sheer level of fame hasn’t gone to his head one bit. He seems to get along well with pretty much all of his teammates, and it’s helping him stay focused ahead of his first season as the starter.
“That’s been tough, but I think I have good people to lean on for that type of stuff,” Manning said. “But I can’t quit doing normal things. Like, I’m going to go eat dinner with my buddies and be a normal college kid.”
