Former NFL MVP and Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton got here to the protection of Arch Manning amid criticism over his choice to spend two years because the backup to Quinn Ewers at Texas, saying that creating as a backup was a clever strategy by Arch and his household.
Manning, who now enters his first season as a beginning quarterback and the presumptive favourite to win the Heisman Trophy, had been focused by critics corresponding to former Florida coach Steve Spurrier who’ve questioned the hype surrounding him on the premise of his spending two years behind Ewers, who finally solely amounted to a seventh spherical NFL Draft choose.
On his 4th & 1 podcast, Newton issued a reminder that the Manning household despatched Arch to Texas with the understanding that they had been attempting to place him in the most effective scenario to grow to be the very best quarterback by the point he is eligible for the NFL. Within the Switch Portal period of faculty soccer and an elevated demand for immediate gratification, Newton served a reminder of the usefulness of such an strategy.
“Lots of these dad and mom and loads of these gamers get so jaded off of the truth that ‘hey, I am attempting to play early.’ No no no no no no, scratch that,” Newton mentioned. “Go someplace that after three years you possibly can put your self ready to go to the league. That does not imply that I am going someplace the place I can play early or begin. Simply since you’re beginning does not imply you are getting developed.”
Newton went on to match Manning’s scenario to his personal time at Florida, the place he credited being a backup to Tim Tebow as displaying him what he was lacking as a quarterback regardless of the immense bodily expertise that later led to him successful a nationwide championship at Auburn and successful NFL MVP honors with the Carolina Panthers. In the identical sense, Newton believed that the time Manning spent backing up Ewers ought to have served him properly.
“I’ve at all times felt like I used to be extra proficient than Tim Tebow. However I wanted Tim Tebow to point out me what I lacked. Tim Tebow was an unbelievable chief, verbally and by actions,” Newton mentioned. “Arch might be a idiot if he has not discovered something from Quinn Ewers. How he ready, how he led his group, and simply how he dealt with and managed the expectations for being a quarterback at a college like Texas.”
As comes along with his final title and the extent of hype he has obtained with restricted taking part in expertise, Manning has been put within the crosshairs of critics over whether or not his presumptive place as the highest quarterback within the nation is justified. Former Florida coach Steve Spurrier just lately scoffed on the concept of Manning and Texas being anointed, saying that “if he was this good how come they let Quinn Ewers play on a regular basis final 12 months? He was a seventh spherical choose?”
Manning’s efficiency, and whether or not he turns Texas right into a nationwide championship contender, will set the tone for a lot of the 2025 school soccer season as an entire — and talking additional, Newton went on to say that Manning’s hype is probably the most for a quarterback on the College of Texas since Vince Younger within the 2000s.
