Steve Sarkisian and the Horns are riding a wave of back-to-back College Football Playoff bids, but the buzz surrounding the program is as raucous as ever. There was that salacious rumor that Texas was spending $40 million on its football roster—a figure that had enthusiasts and opponents alike questioning it. Sarkisian, never afraid to speak his mind, put that to bed quickly. He quipped that the report was “irresponsible” and estimated that the actual figure was closer to $25 million. He made it plain: Texas has money, but so does every other power program today.

The Longhorns are preparing for their second season in the SEC, and things couldn’t be higher stakes. The Destin conference meetings were abuzz with discussions on playoff expansion, reforms under NIL, and whether the SEC would adopt a nine-game schedule. Now, talking about expectations, things are looking different at the QB position for the Longhorns. Quinn Ewers has moved on to the NFL. Arch Manning, who had been waiting in the wings and receiving some reps last season when Ewers was injured, is now entering the spotlight as the new quarterback. Arch Manning’s hype train is revving up, but J.D. Pickell is also extremely respectful of Quinn Ewers.

During the May 30th appearance on On3, J.D. PicKell explains, “A portion of last year, some of it might have been Quinn Ewers and how healthy he was or wasn’t.” It’s Week 2 at Michigan, when Ewers experienced what initially was described as an oblique ‘strain.’ As it turned out, it was a torn oblique muscle—a significantly more severe injury than anyone considered at the time. Despite the agony, Ewers completed that Michigan game with one of his finest performances of the season, passing for 246 yards and three touchdowns. But the injury did not remit. Ewers attempted to play on it, but worse happened, particularly after he tweaked it during the following game against UTSA, sending him out early from the contest. He sat out two games, and even when he came back, he was not much at full strength.

Later in the season, he got a high ankle sprain against Kentucky, adding to his physical issues. Ewers himself acknowledged at the NFL Combine that he was “completely healthy” for perhaps three games all season. PicKell continues, “Never totally felt like there was that completely unlocked, unbridled version of what the Texas offense was supposed to be. Yes, they still scored a lot of points, and yeah, they still ran the football pretty well, but there was never that, what I would call, exclamation mark to the offense set.” There wasn’t quite that sense of unpredictability, that sense that Texas was going to score from anywhere on the field at any time.

Some of it has to do with uncertainty with the QB play. When you can’t trust your QB’s legs, as was the case with Ewers post-injury, some of your offense will get limited. The same won’t be the case with a healthy Arch Manning running the offense in 2025. One thing we know about Arch is that he’s a willing runner, and that opens up the whole playbook for the offensive coordinator. How will it materialize? Just a few more months.

Is Arch Manning the hype that could tip Texas to a title?

The Arch Manning hype train is chugging along, but J.D. isn’t mindlessly climbing aboard. J.D. begins by reminding us all that, yes, Arch Manning is bringing a whole lot of hype—NFL draft talk, the celebrity surname, the whole shebang. But what does he bring to the field? “He’s got some baller to him, man. Like I think whenever the play breaks down as opposed to holding your breath of like oh no what’s happening right now?'” J. D. says. “But this is honestly a situation where you know 16 could seriously thrive. So I love that about him.” 

Arch Manning is not a system quarterback who requires everything to be pristine. Arch is in his element when things become chaotic. J.D. supports this by discussing Arch’s physical equipment. Standing at 6’4″ and weighing 225 pounds, Arch is not a man to be taken lightly, and he has actual mobility. He can roll out, keep his eyes downfield, and throw on the run—something you get glimpses of on his high school tape and even in those fleeting moments during his limited action last year. “Texas, anytime you stack the deck in Sark’s favor with another play, he can call on third down, advantage Texas because you got one of the best play callers in the sport calling the shots for you,” says PicKell.

Third and long is normally the dream of a defensive coordinator. Most offenses watch their playbook dwindle, deception flies out the window, and the whole stadium has an idea that a pass is imminent. But Sarkisian’s offense, particularly with a quarterback like Arch Manning, turns it around. In recent contests, Texas has run some jaw-dropping third-down statistics, converting almost 55% of third downs in big games, with their third-and-long conversions nearly as high. That’s tops! What is so threatening to defenses is that Sarkisian, arguably the top play-caller in college football, now has more choices on third down. If a quarterback such as Arch can routinely convert in obvious passing downs, then Sark can open up the playbook and keep defenses off balance.