Ex Texas Longhorns Coach Shares Arch Manning Backup Plan From 2023

Sacramento State's Brennan Marion, a former coach with the Texas Longhorns, talked about what the coaching staff planned to do had they not landed Arch Manning in 2023.

Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning was making headlines in college football before he even had thoughts about which school he wanted to play for.

And to be fair, nobody can really fault him for it. His bloodline and overall talent under center have transformed him into one of the best prospects in football history, and he seemed to live up to his hype in the games he played last year for Steve Sarkisian both as a starter and as a backup to Quinn Ewers.

But what if the Longhorns didn't land Manning? What if the nephew of Peyton and Eli chose somewhere other than the Forty Acres?

Jan 1, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up before the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

According to Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion, who was the wide receivers coach at Texas during the 2022 season, the team's "Plan B" was quarterback Jaden Rashada, who is now Marion's starting quarterback at Sac State after transferring over from Georgia, who defeated Texas twice throughout the 2024 season, including in the SEC Championship.

Marion was highly interested in recruiting Rashada during his lone season at Texas and believed he would be a solid backup option if the team was unable to land Manning.

"We were all in on getting Arch and that was a team effort," said Marion to CBS Sports earlier in the week. "There was a little bit of, what's the backup plan if we don't get Arch? I went to see Jaden as a potential guy we could put on the radar if we didn't get Arch."

Rashada originally committed to Arizona State before transferring to Georgia for the 2024 season. After losing the backup quarterback position to Gunner Stockton, Rashada rode the bench for Kirby Smart and never appeared under center for the Bulldogs in the season.

He now sits as the starting quarterback with Marion and Sacramento State while Manning sits primed and ready to bring Austin its first national football championship in 20 years when they kick off against the reigning national champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes.

All is well that ends well.