The swirling rumors about Quinn Ewers returning to the Texas Longhorns next season have officially been confirmed. Ewers will forgo the 2024 NFL Draft and return to Austin for his third season with the program. That leaves ballyhooed QB recruit Arch Manning in the rear-view mirror of the Longhorns’ QB room.
If Arch Manning won’t be the top guy for Texas next season, where could he be playing in 2024?
Arch Manning Transfer Destinations
Texas Longhorns
It is entirely plausible that Arch Manning just stays at Texas.
Assuming he would leave this early in his career with Texas transitioning to the SEC feels presumptuous, especially with the gauntlet Texas has to play in 2024. Manning’s camp would probably welcome Ewers having to play at Michigan the second game of the season over him in his first season.
MORE: What is NIL?
Don’t rule it out, especially with the amount he is earning through NIL for simply being on campus. Manning could get another year under Sark while the roster continues to build and hit the ground running in 2025.
LSU Tigers
If he does decide to transfer, a reunion in his home state of Louisiana seems awfully convenient. Manning played high school football in New Orleans and could head back after seeing the success the Tigers’ offense has had this year.
Jayden Daniels is heading out the door, leaving the starting job open for him to take.
Manning would have to fight off former Vanderbilt QB AJ Swann and Garrett Nussmeier, who already has exposure to the offense and team, but he wasn’t a five-star recruit for nothing. Manning could get the keys to an offense filled with talent and step right into playing time.
Alabama Crimson Tide
The future is a bit unclear in Tuscaloosa. Following the unexpected but unsurprising retirement of Nick Saban, the Alabama Crimson Tide may have their fair share of holes to fix on their roster and their coaching staff in the near future.
Alabama was a finalist during the recruiting process for Manning, and despite the turnover, could be the face to usher in the new era of Crimson Tide football all the same. Time would tell if this remains a possibility and first, the Tide would need to bring in a new coach.
Texas A&M Aggies
This would be tremendous content for college football fans, but it does make sense. College Station is closer to his hometown, and if A&M nails their next coaching hire, that job could be appealing pretty quickly. This doesn’t feel fair to the guys in that room like Connor Weigman, but a new coach could want his guys, and Weigman/Max Johnson could leave without Jimbo Fisher there.
MORE: Jimbo Fisher Fired From Texas A&M
Manning could step into a starting job with plenty of talent around him in one of the wealthiest programs in college football.
Georgia Bulldogs
Like Alabama, Georgia was one of Manning’s final schools. However, Carson Beck is returning for another season and would be the presumptive starter in Athens for the 2024 season.
It makes sense to go somewhere familiar, but the Bulldogs feel like a long shot at this point.
Other Potential Landing Spots: North Carolina, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Notre Dame
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