We don’t know whether Greg McElroy wears pink on Wednesdays. But we do know how he feels about Texas’ current quarterback situation.
Ahead of the Longhorns’ Saturday showdown against Clemson in the College Football Playoff, McElroy appeared on ESPN’s Get Up to preview the first-round matchup. And during the appearance, the former Alabama quarterback was unsurprisingly asked whether he thought Texas should consider benching Quinn Ewers in favor of Arch Manning.
In answering, McElroy made it clear he believes the Longhorns should stick with Ewers. And he invoked the 2004 classic Mean Girls to explain why.
“I have a younger sister and there was a movie that she watched religiously when we were a little bit younger. It’s a movie called Mean Girls,” McElroy said. “There’s a moment in the Mean Girls movie where they say, ‘stop trying to make fetch happen.’ That’s kind of what I’m gonna say about this Arch thing. Like, let’s stop trying to make Arch into his uncles right now. He’ll get there. He’s gonna be a great player in time. “I’m a real believer in his upside.”
Greg McElroy on Texas potentially benching Quinn Ewers for Arch Manning: “There’s a moment in the ‘Mean Girls’ movie where they say, ‘stop trying to make fetch happen.’ That’s kind of what I’m going to say about this Arch thing. Let’s stop trying to make Arch into his uncles… pic.twitter.com/4EbahOcPF8
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 20, 2024
The national championship-winning quarterback proceeded to explain that while he could envision Texas using Manning situationally in the upcoming playoffs, he doesn’t think he should be taking reps away from Ewers as the Longhorns’ primary signal-caller.
“I’m a believer in his mobility and I think he could have a package in this system, seriously,” he said. “I think in this playoffs, it would not be surprising in the red zone if he was on the field. But being on the field for anything more than the situational play right now, I think would be disadvantageous to an offense that’s likely going to have to throw their way to victory.
“You look at the teams that they’re likely to face between now and the national championship, they’re going to throw it to win the national championship. So I think Arch is gonna be a great player situationally, but at this point, Quinn’s your guy and should hopefully take you to the promised land if you’re a Longhorn fan.”
Coincidentally, McElroy was the quarterback at Alabama when the Crimson Tide beat Texas in the BCS National Championship Game at the end of the 2009 season. So while some Longhorns fans may agree with his take on Ewers and Manning, other might find themselves shouting “he doesn’t even go here!”
[Get Up]
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.