![Louisiana Monroe's coach]()
Downplaying the hype around Arch Manning is almost impossible right about now — unless you're Louisiana Monroe defensive coordinator Earnest Hill. Read on for the story, stay for the Urban Dictionary referral.
Apparently oblivious to the fact that the top-ranked Texas Longhorns are 44-point favorites against his Warhawks for Saturday's matchup in Austin, Hill made a point to underscore how some of his players beat the latest superstar Manning descendant at the high school level.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DAG5ER-Jczg/?igsh=MTNyN3g5bzY1ZWdkbQ
The nephew of Peyton Paintin' Manning and Eli was stuck on the bench behind Longhorns starting quarterback Quinn Ewers until last week.
Ewers went down with an abdomen injury, and Arch came in to do the following on his first pass attempt and rush attempt respectively:
https://twitter.com/TexasFootball/status/1835106332883464313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1835106332883464313%7Ctwgr%5E6121334fef5ffb241df6d36dee69dcc3c7f894af%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whiskeyriff.com%2F2024%2F09%2F14%2Ftexas-qb-arch-manning-needed-only-2-touches-for-2-tds-including-a-67-yard-run%2F
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1835109210771607868?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1835109210771607868%7Ctwgr%5E6121334fef5ffb241df6d36dee69dcc3c7f894af%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whiskeyriff.com%2F2024%2F09%2F14%2Ftexas-qb-arch-manning-needed-only-2-touches-for-2-tds-including-a-67-yard-run%2F
Somebody from the Manning bloodline who can accelerate like Vince Young, you say? And your plan is to try to get in his head by downplaying his greatness? Good luck, Earnest!
I get that you have to show belief in your players and publicly have their back. But why not save some of this motivational fuel for when you're behind closed doors? You can tell your players in confidence that, if some of you beat Arch in high school, surely you can do it now!
I'd suspect that with all the eye candy and formation trickery Steve Sarkisian can throw at Earnest Hill's defense, we might see Arch break out for another big run come Saturday. The kid can flat-out
move.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1836091954054205769
Real quick aside: I went from a bleeped-out profanity to "formation fudgery" when referencing how Coach Sark can scheme open receivers with the best of 'em in college football. That was meant to be the PG version of what I wanted to write before "trickery." Thanks to the wonders of Urban Dictionary, I now know what "fudgery" is in some dark corners of the web and I'm all the worse for it. Kindly join me in my misery if you will.
Alrighty then. Back on script.
Mr. Hill, you're kind of putting your young men in a bind here by the faintest suggestion that your team can do enough to shut Arch down, much less win the game. I'd be more inclined to bet several units on Texas to cover than taking the smallest of moneyline fliers on UL Monroe. In fact, I'd wager you can't even bet the Warhawks on the moneyline because the odds would be too long.
This week should mark the most we've seen Arch air it out since his
stunning performance at the Texas Spring Game. Given that the Longhorns have a rather easy SEC opener at home against Mississippi State and a bye right after this incoming tilt with UL Monroe, I'd expect Arch to get the starting nod one more time. Then, Sark should pivot back to Ewers for the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma as long as he's ready to go to avoid any controversy. But who knows? Maybe Arch plays too well to stay off the field.
Despite the relative cupcake opponents coming up here, I'll be captivated to see how the Arch-Ewers situation plays out. And I'll probably forget who Earnest Hill is before the season ends.
Cool scoop from Pat McAfee to support my thinking re: Ewers as QB1 upon his return from injury.
https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1837174326279147573
