‘What Was I Drinking?’ Paul Finebaum Explains Wild Arch Manning vs. Quinn Ewers Take

By now, the debate has been long settled.

Quinn Ewers is the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns. And to be frank, his hold on the job was never really in doubt.

However, there are still those out there who believe that Arch Manning is the better option for the 2024 Longhorns.

On Sunday during the SEC Celebrations in Austin, it appeared that ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum was part of that camp, proclaiming a wild take that Manning would be the Longhorns starter by the end of the season.

“That would be Arch Manning. I don’t need to tiptoe around that,” Finebaum said when asked who would be the Horns’ starter by the end of the season. “That is guaranteed. You heard it. We may even see him a little bit throughout the season.”

Unsurprisingly, Finebaum’s take went viral, as they often do due to his propensity to stir the pot.

Also unsurprisingly, Texas fans took to social media both in search of an explanation, and give their thoughts to Finebaum.

As it turns out, however, it was all just a giant misunderstanding on Finebaum’s behalf.

“I may be feeble but I’m not that feeble,” Finebaum said on ‘SEC Now’ later that day. “When the guy said end of the season? I thought he meant end of the season. I don’t want to back away from anything I said but I did give an interview earlier to a young man with the local tv. I’ve been seeing that pop up and I’m, like, going, ‘What was I drinking?’”

“I’m glad that you gave me a chance to clarify it because I really was thinking end of season. He’s going to be the starter next year and I said guaranteed, mark it down. I would never impugn Ewers because I think he’s probably the second-best quarterback in the country starting the year.”

Makes a lot more sense, right?

Of course, there is always the possibility that things could change. Ewers could get hurt, or even take a step back and struggle, leading to Steve Sarkisian needing to make a change.

But right now, Finebaum is absolutely right.

Entering the season, Ewers is arguably the best quarterback in the country, and definitely in the conversation for being one of the top two or three. He is also the unquestioned leader of the program.

Will Manning eventually get his chance to be that guy? Absolutely.

And if Ewers has the year that we most expect him to have, it will be just as Finebaum meant to say – the 2025 season.