BREAKING:It’s Arch Manning time at Texas after Longhorns’ latest CFP exit. Will it meet the hype?…

As Quinn Ewers trudged off the AT&T Stadium turf and approached the tunnel following Texas’ season-ending loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, scores of nearby Longhorns fans applauded and offered gratitude and encouragement to Ewers and the teammates who followed him off the field.

Ewers, with a white Gatorade towel draped around his neck, looked around at the scene for a moment. As entered the tunnel, he turned back toward the field, brought the towel to his mouth with his right hand and took one last look before leaving the field for good.

After three seasons, two College Football Playoff semifinal appearances and seemingly endless scrutiny, that’s how the Ewers era at Texas ended, with the NFL his likely next stop. The Arch Manning era, which many fans have anxiously awaited since the quarterback with football royalty bloodlines committed to Texas on June 23, 2022, is finally here.

Manning, the son of Cooper, nephew of Peyton and Eli and grandson of Archie, was the most highly anticipated recruit to arrive on the Forty Acres since Vince Young in 2002. Manning was the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2023 per 247Sports, and that ranking, his size, his skill set and his famous last name have made him the subject of far more attention than your average backup quarterback.

No longer will the idea of Manning

No longer will the idea of Manning and his ceiling exist in the abstract. It’s his time, for real, and his first game as the unquestioned face of the program will be against the same team Ewers faced in his last: Ohio State, on Aug. 30 in Columbus.

Manning has had to exercise patience in an era that is short on it, particularly among blue-chip quarterbacks, who often transfer if they don’t earn the starting job early in their career. But Manning’s background and built-in advantages allowed him to take a unique approach and wait it out while Texas coach Steve Sarkisian stuck by Ewers.

Some fans clamored for Manning to see more extended playing time even when the more experienced Ewers was healthy enough to play this season. But both Texas and its new starting quarterback will be better for the wait

Some fans clamored for Manning to see more extended playing time even when the more experienced Ewers was healthy enough to play this season. But both Texas and its new starting quarterback will be better for the wait

Ewers, who was a No. 1 recruit himself, lifted the program back to national prominence and took it to the cusp of a national title game two years in a row, starting 21 of the Longhorns’ 25 wins. Manning got something most highly ranked recruits don’t: time.

He had a year to redshirt, develop and learn as the third-string quarterback. This season, he stepped into the backup role and saw significant snaps. He went off for five touchdowns in relief of an injured Ewers in a 56-7 win against UTSA. Manning started the next two games as Ewers recovered from a strained oblique. Texas won both, but Manning showed that he wasn’t perfect, making plenty of young quarterback mistakes.

Manning also had the chance to get involved in specialized packages late in the season, as Sarkisian utilized him as a runner in short-yardage situations, including on a key fourth down late in the first half against the Buckeyes

All that experience will help. Young quarterbacks are often rushed onto the field in sink-or-swim situations — either by necessity or because coaches feel pressured to play them out of fear that they’ll transfer. Manning assumes the reins at Texas under much more favorable circumstances. He has had two seasons to learn under Sarkisian and quarterbacks coach A.J. Milwee. He doesn’t have to be the savior for Texas football, because the program is already in the best shape of the past 15-plus years.