Arch Manning 'Perfectly Happy' With Texas Longhorns, Not Expected to Enter NCAA Transfer Portal
With the NCAA Transfer Portal officially opening on Monday morning, fans of every team in the country - contenders or not - are left wondering if key players will be lost to the new age of college football.
Early Monday morning, shocking quarterback news was already revealed, with Ohio State QB Kyle McCord - who started all 12 regular season games for the Buckeyes - would be entering the portal.
And with that, immediate fan speculation on social media began surrounding Texas Longhorns freshman Arch Manning, who has been at the center of the transfer rumor mill for some time now, despite zero indication that he was interested in exploring the idea of a transfer.
However, according to 247Sports college football analyst Chris Hummer, Manning is 'perfectly happy in Austin, and is expected to stay put.
"Obviously, Arch Manning is the name that looms above it all — everybody's interested in Arch," Hummer said. "Based on everything we've heard, Arch is perfectly happy at Texas. I think the expectation is he will be back in 2024."
Arch Manning after the Alabama win
USA Today Sports
Instead, Hummer believes the Horns' current second-string QB, Maalik Murphy, is the more likely of the two to transfer.
That will depend on the decision of current starter Quinn Ewers, who is reportedly leaning toward returning to Austin in 2024.
"The real question mark in the room is what happens with Quinn Ewers and what happens with Maalik Murphy," Hummer said. "For right now, it feels likely that (Ewers) is back — which means Maalik Murphy might be on the move. I think it's probably trending in that direction. A lot of teams tampered with him last offseason. I'm not sure if Maalik wants to wait another season behind Quinn Ewers and then potentially have to battle Arch Manning for that job in 2025."
Murphy filled in for Ewers at a critical two-game stretch of the season following an injury to Ewers in a close win over Houston.
Murphy went on to lead the Longhorns to a 2-0 record over those games, including an overtime win over the Kansas State Wildcats at home.
