If you ask anyone in Austin, Texas, who the best backup quarterback in the country is, you will get the same answer:
Arch Manning. By far.
However, 247Sports has a different opinion on Quinn Ewers’ likely successor than Longhorns fans. The website published an op-ed saying true freshman DJ Lagway of the University of Florida was the better of the two. Manning came in second to a signal caller who is just going through his first fall practice. Say that’s not true.
“A future Heisman winner will be one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in college football and the best signal caller since Tim Tebow,” 247Sports’ Clint Brewster said of Lagway.
Lagway is backing up former Wisconsin starter Graham Mertz in Florida. The fact that Lagway can’t unseat Mertz is proof that he’s not better than Manning. Manning came in and contributed behind Ewers and Malik Murphy.
However, Manning had a great spring game for Texas. He showed what he can do in a live football situation. With Murphy transferring to Duke, Manning is just one play away from being the starter.
“Manning has excellent passing skills and subtle agility,” Brewster said. “Manning and Lagway will take over college football in 2025 and lead the SEC in passing for the next few seasons.”
Brewster reminds us that Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, USC’s Sam Darnold and Ohio State’s Cardale Jones were once considered top backups at quarterback. All three eventually became starters at their respective schools and were subsequently drafted by the National Football League.
Tagovailoa just signed a $212.4 million contract extension with the Miami Dolphins. Darnold signed a $10 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings and is expected to be their starter. Jones took over at Ohio State and had a great college career, but was never successful in the NFL.
