Manning taking all backup QB reps for Longhorns
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Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
NEW ORLEANS — Texas quarterback Arch Manning has taken all the reps as the backup quarterback during practice for the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the first time this season he heads into a game as the No. 2 player behind starter Quinn Ewers.
Manning, who arrived at Texas for his freshman season as the most heralded quarterback in the country, was elevated to the backup spot after Maalik Murphy announced he was entering the transfer portal. Murphy has since announced he plans to transfer to Duke.
“When you get into the season, you don’t always have the opportunity to get everybody the amount of reps that you would like to. So I think that’s the biggest change for him,” Texas offensive coordinator Kyle Flood said Friday during media availability, the first time he has addressed the personnel change.
“We’ve got a ton of confidence in Arch,” Flood continued. “I think his progression throughout the year has been excellent. He’s a real student of the game, and he’s approached it like that from the very beginning. So I think probably the best thing for him and for us as a team was that when that happened, it was very easy for him to just continue to do what he was doing, because he never approached it like he was the third quarterback or the backup quarterback. He approaches everything like he’s the starting quarterback. I think that’s the key when you’re in a reserve role of being ready when you’re called upon.”
The 6-foot-4, 212-pound Manning also happens to be preparing for a game in his native New Orleans. Manning played at Isidore Newman High School and is the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning. His father, Cooper Manning, played wide receiver at Ole Miss.
Arch Manning was the No. 2 overall prospect in the ESPN300 class of 2023 and arrived as an early enrollee in January. Though there were expectations placed on him right from the start, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian announced after the spring game that Ewers would be the starter for this season.
When Ewers hurt his right shoulder against Houston in October, it was Murphy who started in his place the next two games before Ewers returned. Still, coaches and teammates said Manning kept growing and getting better as he watched from the sideline. He played in one game this season, the regular-season finale against Texas Tech, going 2-of-5 for 30 yards, with seven yards rushing.
“You can just tell that he wants to learn as much as he can,” Ewers said. “He’s always asking questions, just trying to do his best. “I think he understands the opportunity he has in front of him, and he’s definitely not going to waste it.”
Whether Manning gets into another game this season or not, there already are questions about what the quarterback room will look like at Texas headed into 2024. Ewers reiterated on Friday he has not made a decision about whether he will return for a fourth season or enter the NFL draft. He has until Jan. 15 to make a decision.
“Just trying to win a national championship right now, not really thinking about that,” Ewers said.
Behind Ewers, himself one of the top quarterback prospects out of high school, Texas has reached its first CFP. But the last time Texas played for a national championship, in January 2010 against Alabama, starter Colt McCoy got hurt on the second series and backup Garrett Gilbert played the rest of the game. Alabama won 37-21.
While nobody expects Ewers to go down, there’s a reason the backup quarterback has to always be ready. Texas tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders said if Manning was pressed into action in the playoffs, it would take a collective effort to help him get comfortable.
“I think it would take him a little bit to get settled in,” Sanders said. “First start, and then in a College Football Playoff game. There’s so much on the line. I definitely think as a team, we would just have to implement the confidence in him, tell him we got you, just go and throw it. So I think if he was to play in the game, he would be ready.”
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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
Wisconsin fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo on Sunday, a day after the Badgers’ 16-13 home loss to No. 1 Oregon.
In a statement, Badgers coach Luke Fickell thanked Longo for his two seasons with the program, while adding, “We are not where we need to be and believe this decision is in the best interest of the team.”
Wisconsin ranks 97th nationally in scoring and 102nd in passing while operating an Air Raid-style offense that Longo brought with him from North Carolina and other stops.
The Badgers, who lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to a season-ending injury Sept. 14, had only three points and 88 yards in the second half against Oregon, which rallied from a 13-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter.
Wisconsin ranked 101st nationally in scoring in Longo’s 23 games as coordinator and failed to eclipse 13 points on its current three-game losing streak. Quarterback Braedyn Locke had only 96 passing yards against the Ducks.
Fickell did not immediately announce an interim coordinator for Wisconsin’s final regular-season games against Nebraska and Minnesota.
Fickell had long targeted Longo for a coordinator role, going back to his time as Cincinnati’s coach. Longo, 56, oversaw productive offenses at Ole Miss, North Carolina, Sam Houston State and other spots but never consistently got traction at a Wisconsin program that had operated dramatically differently on offense before his arrival.
“This team still has a lot in front of us and I am committed to doing everything we can to close out this season with success,” Fickell said in his statement.
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Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
Four-star quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. has committed to Florida, he told ESPN on Sunday, joining the Gators’ 2025 class four days after pulling his pledge from Florida State.
Jones, a four-year starter at Florida’s Mandarin High School, is ESPN’s No. 9 dual-threat passer in the Class of 2025. After multiple trips to Florida throughout his recruitment, Jones returned to campus Saturday, taking an official visit with the Gators during the program’s 27-16 win over LSU. A day later, Jones stands as the lone quarterback pledge in a 2025 Florida class that includes five pledges from the ESPN 300.
“I pretty much saw everything I needed to see when I visited last spring — I just love everything around the campus,” Jones told ESPN. “And then hanging out with the guys yesterday, seeing the camaraderie with each other, that really just sealed it for me.”
Jones was the longest-tenured member of Mike Norvell’s 2025 class at Florida State before his decommitment from the Seminoles on Thursday morning.
Jones’ exit came days after Norvell announced the firings of three assistant coaches on Nov. 10, including offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Alex Atkins. Jones was the first Florida State commit to pull his pledge in the wake of the staff shakeup but marked the Seminoles sixth decommitment since the start of the regular season, joining five ESPN 300 recruits who have left Norvell’s recruiting class across the program’s 1-9 start.
Jones’ commitment follows a key late-season victory for Billy Napier on Saturday and marks the Gators’ first recruiting win since athletic director Scott Strickland announced on Nov. 7 that Florida would stick with the third-year coach beyond the 2024 season.
Uncertainty over Napier’s future had weighed down Florida’s recruiting efforts in the 2025 class as the Gators began November with the No. 39 class in ESPN’s latest team rankings for the cycle. But Jones’ pledge comes as a boost for Florida one day after the Gators hosted a handful of high-profile flip targets, including five-star offensive tackle Solomon Thomas (Florida State pledge) and four-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench (Texas pledge).
When Jones signs with Florida, he’ll arrive on campus flanked by fellow in-state offensive talents in four-star wide receivers Vernell Brown III (No. 44 in the ESPN 300) and Naeshaun Montgomery (No. 115), as well as four-star running back Waltez Clark (No. 223). Florida is also set to sign a pair of in-state defenders from the 2025 ESPN 300 between four-star defensive end Jalen Wiggins (No. 68) and four-star cornerback Ben Hanks Jr. (No. 121).
With Jones’ commitment, Florida has another jolt to its momentum on the recruiting trail as the Gators seek to chart a strong finish in the 2025 cycle next month. More imminently, Florida will host No. 11 Ole Miss on Saturday.
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