Report: Texas' Arch Manning Has Added 15 Pounds of Muscle, Can Run 'Entire Offense'

Arch Manning's time as QB1 with Texas has not arrived yet, but he's making clear progress en route to whenever that moment arrives.

Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods.com provided the latest:

Manning, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023, sat this season behind starter Quinn Ewers, who led Texas to a Big 12 title and the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported on Dec. 2 that Ewers' chances of returning to Texas have "increased exponentially in the past few weeks."

If Ewers does return, then Manning is in line to be Ewers' backup with Longhorn signal-caller Maalik Murphy entering the NCAA transfer portal.

Manning saw his first collegiate action in the tail end of a 57-7 win over Texas Tech, completing 2-of-5 passes for 30 yards. He'll be QB2 for the College Football Playoff with Murphy not being with the team for the CFP.

"I hate it, I hate it," Murphy told ESPN's Pete Thamel. "I'm super invested in this team. Everything that we've done along the way and all the work we've put in together, it's hard to walk away, especially at this point during the season."

Although Ewers could be heading back to school, thereby keeping Manning down on the depth chart for another year, it doesn't appear the star recruit is heading anywhere.

"Obviously, Arch Manning is the name that looms above it all — everybody's interested in Arch," 247Sports' Chris Hummer said earlier in December. "Based on everything we've heard, Arch is perfectly happy at Texas. I think the expectation is he will be back in 2024."

For now, though, Texas is looking for its first national title since 2005. To help accomplish that, the Longhorns will need to take down No. 2 Washington in the CFP semifinal (the Sugar Bowl). Kickoff will be on New Year's Day at 8:45 p.m. ET.