As Texas enters week seven of the college football season, it brings more talk of contenders for the coveted Heisman Trophy, an honor that just two Texas football players have held, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams. This season the Longhorns have two names being thrown around in the Heisman conversation, with junior quarterback Quinn Ewers as a top candidate in the beginning of the season, and now redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning.
Since Ewers was sidelined three weeks ago with an oblique injury, his Heisman odds have continued to drop. According to SportsGrid, he now sits sixth with +2000 odds behind Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty (+240), Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter (+320) and Miami quarterback Cam Ward (+450) who hold the top three spots. If he wants any chance to clinch that trophy, he will have to take to the field quickly and continue to produce the impressive results that he put up in the early weeks of the season.
Ewers led the 2023 Texas squad to the Sugar Bowl last season and saw plenty of hype, and his showing earlier this season is what has made him a favorite for the Heisman. After taking down the reigning national champions in Michigan 31-12 and throwing three touchdowns with 246 passing yards, he solidified himself as a top contender for the award. His teammates also see him as a Heisman competitor and a good leader, even in those stressful environments.
“Being in that quarterback position, you have to have that type of, you know, skill set to just be confident and calm. And not everybody has it, but Quinn, 100% has that to where no moment is too big for him, no moment is too small for him,” junior safety Michael Taaffe said. “When it’s Michigan and there’s 110,000 fans and Michigan’s packed the Big House the most they’ve ever packed it and history, and Quinn’s out there, just calm, composed.”
However, Ewers sustained an injury early on in the following week’s matchup against UTSA, where Manning stepped in and accumulated four touchdowns for 223 passing yards and a 67-yard run to the endzone for a touchdown of his own. After his impressive night, Ewers’ injury helped jump Manning into the sights of the Heisman Trophy committee, improving his odds from 150-1 to only 20-1 after the singular game.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian stated in his Monday press conference that Ewers is ready and able to play, especially after using the bye week as time for extra recovery. However, he has yet to name him a starter for this week’s rivalry matchup against Oklahoma and revealed his comfort in choosing either Ewers or Manning.
“I feel good about how he (Ewers) was today. I feel good about him going Saturday, but that remains to be seen. I have no hesitation with Arch (Manning) going in the game,” Sarkisian said. “I think he’s proven that to us over two and a half games of football, that he’s really played in and competed in, that he can run our offense and he can be successful.”
Ewers, while finally healthy, is coming back onto the field in a slightly difficult stretch for the Longhorns as they face No. 18 Oklahoma this week, No. 5 Georgia the next and then Vanderbilt, which just took down then-No. 1 Alabama. Ewers will have his work cut out for him the next couple weeks if he wants to see his name back to the top of Heisman watchlists. However, it has been expressed that even before the season, Ewers’ mind has not been on the award, but rather on the team and a Texas national championship.
“Quinn is probably like the coolest guy in the room. He doesn’t get caught up in that stuff,” Sarkisian said about the trophy back in July. “He’s more focused on winning a championship and being the best player he can be.”
