With Quinn Ewers foregoing the 2024 NFL Draft to return for his third season as a Texas Longhorn, prized redshirt freshman Arch Manning will need to sit one more year in Austin. Unless Ewers implodes during the campaign, it’s unlikely we’ll see more than mop-up duty out of the NFL legacy, although that’s still an upgrade over the five passes and three carries he saw last season.
Manning said he hasn’t “looked into transferring at all,” and his New York Giants legend uncle, Eli Manning, cemented the point in February. “He picked Texas because that’s where he wants to be,” Eli said on CBS Sports Radio. “That’s where he wants to play football.”
Nevertheless, there is always a non-zero chance an athlete enters the portal despite how many times they say they won’t. So, which landing spots would make sense for Manning in 2025 and beyond?
Arch Manning’s Transfer Destinations
Texas Longhorns
This is the most realistic option. Maalik Murphy, who served as Ewers’ backup last season, transferred to Duke this offseason, and Ewers is in his final year of eligibility. Thus, Manning’s name is practically written in Sharpie as QB1 on the depth chart for the 2025 season.
As of right now, his only competition would be junior Joe Tatum, who hasn’t played a snap in his collegiate career, four-star true freshman Trey Owens, and four-star 2025 commit Trey Lacy. But Manning would have far more experience than all three of those signal-callers combined, not to mention the pedigree and big-name value.
LSU Tigers
Jayden Daniels laid waste to the SEC last season, and Garrett Nussmeier hopes to pick up where the 2023 Heisman winner left off. As a redshirt junior, Nussmeier could return in 2025, but there are still three ways Manning would win the job in his home state:
- Nussmeier stumbles in 2024, and head coach Brian Kelly opts to look in another direction.
- Nussmeier balls out and leaves for the 2025 NFL Draft.
- Nussmeier plays well if unspectacular, returns, and loses the QB battle to Manning.
It also helps that Kelly’s staff heavily recruited the Louisiana native, so the connection has already been made.
Alabama Crimson Tide
The Crimson Tide were a finalist during Manning’s recruitment, and even though that was with Nick Saban’s staff, Kalen DeBoer has pieced together quite the roster and staff in Tuscaloosa. Plus, the head coach’s offensive expertise should appeal to the former No. 1 overall prospect.
Texas A&M Aggies
New Aggies head coach Mike Elko worked wonders with Riley Leonard at Duke and recruited Manning while with the Blue Devils. Connor Weigman is only a true sophomore, and if he plays a full season like he did in five games before an injury ended his campaign early in 2023, Texas A&M won’t need a QB in 2025.
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Yet, if Weigman falters in Elko’s system, Manning could find himself in College Station, which would be Longhorns fans’ worst nightmare.
Georgia Bulldogs
Like Alabama, Georgia was one of Manning’s final schools. Carson Beck returns for the 2024 season, but behind him is pure uncertainty. As a result, the Bulldogs are looking for a transfer QB now and have been linked with Jaden Rashada. If they don’t land one, especially a passer with multiple years of eligibility remaining, Manning would be a perfect match.
Other Potential Landing Spots: North Carolina, Ole Miss, and Notre Dame
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