Arch Manning threw his first career touchdown pass and ran for his first score in mop-up duty in No. 4 Texas’ 52-0 victory over Colorado State on Saturday in the season opener.
The five-star recruit with the NFL family pedigree might be the highest- profile backup quarterback in the country as he waits behind starter Quinn Ewers.
And while Manning, still a freshman after playing briefly last season, might not be a threat to unseat Ewers, every step on the field is met with robust cheers from Longhorns fans.
Manning, the son of Cooper Manning, is the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.
Texas led 38-0 in the third quarter when Manning entered the game. His first play was a 40-yard completion to Johntay Cook II.
His second pass was a 5-yard TD strike to Silas Bolden. On the play, Manning scrambled to avoid a pass rush, then looked ready to bolt for the end zone before shoveling the pass to Bolden.
His 1-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes left was Texas’ final score.
Manning’s readiness to play significant minutes this season could be key in Texas’ first season in the Southeastern Conference. Ewers has missed multiple games each of the previous two seasons with injuries.
“The ability to have the vision to find the guy for the touchdown, that’s the natural instincts that he has,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said about Manning.
“I fight with Arch a lot about him being a little too robotic at times because he wants to be right. I want him to play the game because he has so many cool instincts. We saw that on display today.”
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