Arch Manning will be Texas' better quarterback option, just not this season | Bohls

Yes, Quinn Ewers is — and should be, and will be — Texas' starting quarterback.

But Arch Manning showed so much arm, polish and poise at Saturday's Orange-White spring game that I’m thinking he’ll be a better quarterback (eventually) than Ewers. Just not now.

Manning has bigger upside and will be a better NFL quarterback. That’s not a slam. Ewers is a damn good quarterback and will go in the first two rounds of next year’s NFL draft. Manning just has a more physical physique to take more of a pounding.

Manning has a stronger arm and a quick release. He sees the field well. Again, this is not to disparage Ewers even a little bit. But Ewers is 16-6 in his career. He’s missed five of 27 games and parts of a sixth. He doesn’t slide nearly enough. He’s not as mobile as Manning.

More: How did Texas football answer 24 key spring football questions?

But he improved dramatically last season and deserves immense credit for taking Texas to its first College Football Playoff. He was within one short touchdown strike to Adonai Mitchell of going to the national championship game. And if injury befalls him for a third straight year, who’s to say if he’ll get his job back after he heals.

It says here this is the best three-quarterback group at Texas since, well, last year only because Maalik Murphy, now at Duke, had more experience than Trey Owens, a freshman who looked fantastic and very comfortable Saturday.

Remember, the only Longhorns who have started a game in the NFL since Vince Young went 31-19 at Tennessee and one year at Philadelphia have been:

∙ Colt McCoy (11-25) over 12 years

∙ Chris Simms (7-9)

∙ Garrett Gilbert (two starts with an 0-2 mark and a Super Bowl ring as a practice squad member of the Patriots)

∙ Sam Ehlinger (0-3 in three starts).

More and better candidates are on the way.