Arch Manning's time has finally arrived.
After two seasons as a backup quarterback for the Texas Longhorns (with a couple starts mixed in), he's the unquestioned QB1 in Austin.
His debut couldn't be much bigger: It's on Saturday in Columbus at No. 1 Ohio State.
But this whole season will be highly scrutinized. The nephew of Peyton and Eli, a projected No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick whenever he decides to leave school, is as special as they come.
But he's traveled a different college football journey than most other modern quarterbacks in one simple way: He didn't leave.
Why was Arch Manning a backup QB at Texas?
Arch Manning spent his first two seasons at Texas as a backup quarterback, and it wasn't necessarily a surprise.
Manning went to Texas when Quinn Ewers was already there. Ewers himself was a top quarterback recruit, who after a brief cameo to Ohio State, came to the Longhorns to revive the program, and he did.
Last season, Manning got a couple starts when Ewers was hurt, and he also filled an occasional role as a rushing specialist QB.
But for the most part, he watched and learned behind a really good college football quarterback.
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Why didn't Arch Manning transfer from Texas?
From the beginning, every indication was that Arch Manning would do things differently.
He had no social media presence in recruiting until he used his first ever tweet to announce his commitment to Texas.
And although Arch didn't have much media time in the early going, everything said about him suggested he'd stay put until it was his time.
He had chosen Texas to play for Steve Sarkisian. He wasn't going to leave simply because he was behind Ewers on the depth chart, a reality that was relatively easy to expect.
So he's still with the Longhorns, and now it's his time to shine.
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