The Texas Longhorns football program may have some potential concerns about the quarterback position in the now and in the future. Quarterback Arch Manning has struggled during the 2025 college football season and has not lived up to the hype.
There is now another concern with the Longhorns football program. Quarterback recruit Dia Bell is out for the remainder of his senior season with an injury. Bell is the number four overall recruit in the ESPN 300 for the class of 2026 and a five-star recruit. With his injuries being a potential concern, is there a chance that the Longhorns may have to change potential plans at the quarterback position for the future?
Texas Longhorns May Have to Consider Transfer Portal For the 2026 Season After Dia Bell Injury
With the Longhorns facing questions about the quarterback position for the remainder of this season and potentially next year as well, Texas may have to go a route it doesn't want to. Andrew Ivins of cbssports.com broke down what could potentially happen with this football program next year at the quarterback position. He said,
"If Arch Manning really is the biggest bust of all time, as some on social media would love to tell you, then Texas fans better start working on their wish list of transfer portal arms because incoming five-star quarterback recruit Dia Bell's development has taken a major hit.
Bell announced earlier this week he is shutting things down for the rest of his senior season in order to get a minor procedure. Injuries happen, but Bell also missed the tail end of his junior year with a lower-leg extremity. That means the MVP of this summer's Elite 11 Finals will head to Austin with just 25 varsity starts under his belt -- and that's not an ideal number.
There is no magic formula when it comes to predicting a quarterback's success, but live game reps are hard to replace. Just look at Quinn Ewers, who started only 25 games in high school after electing to reclassify and forgo his senior season. Ewers spent his first year at Ohio State running the scout team before eventually transferring to Texas where he brought Texas to consecutive College Football Playoff semifinals but never personally matched his lofty No. 1 overall ranking.
The Talent Tracker isn't ready to proclaim that Bell is the latest quasi-reclassification cautionary tale, but it would be a bit silly to think that Bell is going to factor into the Longhorns' quarterback plans next year -- 2026 -- if Manning really can't turn things around and that's because Bell's growth as a player is being stalled at a key moment."
There is a very good chance that Texas is going to have to redshirt Bell during the 2026 season because of the lack of starts he had on the varsity level in high school. If Manning does not turn it around during the 2025 college football season, then Texas is going to have to make a major decision if he does not leave via draft or the transfer portal after the season.
The Longhorns may have to find a quarterback in the transfer portal after the 2025 season whether they like it or not. At the moment, senior Matthew Caldwell is the backup quarterback on the roster. The other quarterbacks for Texas on the roster are redshirt freshman Trey Owens and freshman Karle Lacey Jr.
There is no threat of Manning being benched in the 2025 season, unless he were to get injured. It would be a nightmare scenario for this football program if he got injured despite struggling this season. There is a lot of time for him to fix things and be great. However, Texas needs to think about potentially finding a quarterback through the transfer portal after the season because of the recent developments with Manning and Bell.
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