Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers should return for this third season because there’s much potential for growth. Still, there are no guarantees he'd win the starting job as the Longhorns make their way to the SEC.

Arch Manning is already the most popular quarterback in the state — that includes the Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott and Houston Texans' C.J. Stroud — and he has yet to start a game, but Ewers will come back as the more experienced option.

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Manning made his media debut last Saturday ahead of Monday's Sugar Bowl, and a throng of reporters crowded around him. It wasn’t because he’s better than Ewers, but that he’s a shiny new thing who represents hope for greater things to come in this program.

Ewers is a good quarterback, but the fans have seen what he can do and are understandably intrigued with Manning because of the freshman's pedigree and the buzz surrounding him since he arrived in Austin.

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Now that the smoke has cleared, the 37-31 loss to Washington in the Sugar Bowl was a microcosm of Ewers’ career here. He couldn’t get out of park for most of the game, and while he gamely made some nice scrambles when things weren’t going great, he played a major role in the Horns’ offensive struggles for most of the night.

He did make some big-time throws to Jordan Whittington and Jaydon Blue on that final drive, but he missed badly on the biggest throw of his young career. Adonai Mitchell was clearly open in the end zone on what ended up being the last play of the season, but Ewers chose to lob it up instead of zipping it in there on a line, something Washington's Michael Penix Jr. did time and time again against a clearly outclassed Texas secondary.

The throw sailed out of bounds, ending UT's season with a splat.

Had he pulled off that late miracle and somehow vaulted Texas into the CFP title game, the conversations would be different today. But the Horns are at the house and will be watching Michigan and Washington play for it all with the rest of us. Nothing wrong with 12-2, a Big 12 title and a CFP semifinal, but it could have been so much more.

Ewers was right when he said many reporters in the postgame interview room didn’t believe the Horns would be playing for a national title, and he must be credited for what he did to get the Horns here.

“We're going to continue to just focus on the opinions inside our four walls and continue to build,” he said.

Why have one solid option when you can have two?

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is a smart man who would much rather have two good options at QB than one, and given Ewers’ history of injury — he’s missed five starts over the past two seasons — who could blame him?

Ewers hasn't announced whether he will return for another season or leave for the NFL, but a return would plunge Texas into a good, old-fashioned quarterback controversy, something along the lines of Chris Simms and Major Applewhite from back in the day. Unlike that one, which split the fan base and led to some real unsavory comments about Simms, we would be looking at a starter who led the Horns to the brink of a national title game against an inexperienced prodigy with humongous upside.

This, my friends, is a win for the depth chart.

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Ewers made some strides this season. He threw for more than 300 yards six times and got himself in much better shape in the offseason. He doesn’t make many "woo" throws, and that was magnified as we watched Penix surgically take apart a good Texas defense. That said, I expect Ewers to be better. Remember the jump Joe Burrow made in his final two seasons at LSU? I’m not saying Ewers is Burrow, but his improvement from freshman to sophomore should offer hope that he has another level coming.

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Question is, even if he is better, will he be good enough to beat out the progeny of the first family of American quarterbacks? Arch is a team guy, but no real competitor wants to go anywhere and sit for two seasons, especially a Manning.

The transfer portal is always a danger for coaches wanting to keep their talent, but expect to see both back in 2024, battling for the same job.

Sark will need new blood amid NFL exodus

The exodus has begun: ‘X’ marked a new spot. And others followed.

Junior wide receiver Xavier Worthy didn’t waste any time saying his goodbyes to the Horns, announcing Tuesday that he is making himself available for this spring’s NFL draft. Running back Jonathon Brooks and defensive tackle Byron Murphy II made similar news Thursday.

Worthy was expected to leave, but his departure could start a mass exodus of talented pass catchers heading for the exits. Tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders sounded like a man playing his final season during interviews in New Orleans. The same goes for defensive back Jahdae Barron. Wideout Adonai Mitchell was more noncommittal. The most prolific catcher of touchdown passes in CFP history would be a real blessing to the 2024 receiving room, which will be missing Worthy, Sanders and Jordan Whittington, who said his goodbyes on the site formerly known as Twitter on Thursday.

Texas will miss these locker room leaders, but others will emerge because the culture that Steve Sarkisian has built should be sustainable. Will it lead to another CFP appearance next season? That’s a tough sell given a schedule that includes Michigan, Georgia, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas A&M.

Texas will return some nice talent in Johntay Cook II and Deandre Moore, and the portal could present some nice options. Hey, Texas One fund, ever heard of Evan Stewart? The former Aggie who caught 91 passes for more than 1,100 yards in a struggling offense over the past two seasons might be a welcome addition in Austin this fall.

Defensively, the Horns will have to replace two anchors up front and figure out how to get better on the back end.

Great recruits are coming, but the portal will be crucial. Sark will need some plug-and-play veterans to keep this train moving.

The Dallas Cowboys get some help

Lions, Eagles make way for Dallas: The Cowboys were aided by Detroit coach Dan Campbell’s failed attempt at deception in last week’s win over the Lions, but they got even more help when the free-falling Philadelphia Eagles lost to NFC West cellar dweller Arizona.

Dallas (11-5) can win the NFC East with a victory at Washington on Sunday and better yet can earn a first-round bye, which means the Cowboys would need to win only one game to advance to the NFC title game, probably at San Francisco.

This has lined up so nicely for the Pokes, but the biggest question will be how Mike McCarthy and Co. will find a way to muck it up.

Meanwhile, Jerry Jones finally gave Jimmy Johnson his flowers when he inducted the legendary Cowboys coach as the 24th member of the team’s Ring of Honor.

“You inspired me,” Jones said — 30 years after he fired the man who coached two Super Bowl champs, and it would have been more had they kept their egos from running rampant.

It was nice to see Jerry and Jimmy hug it out and express so much respect for each other.

And wouldn’t it be great if they actually meant it?

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football could return two potential starting QBs in 2024