Texas beat Oklahoma State so badly during the Big 12 Championship that Arch Manning got to play. Although the Longhorns didn’t try and push the ball downfield with their five-star freshman in the game, they allowed him to share an incredibly special moment with running back Jonathon Brooks.
Brooks was unable to play on Saturday. Steve Sarkisian made to get him a snap anyway.
Manning lined up in victory formation as the clock counted down to zero. Behind him, with a knee brace on his right leg, was Brooks.
The first grandson of football took the snap and immediately turned to toss the game ball to his injured running back. Pretty cool.
Brooks, who took over the backfield from Bijan Robinson, had one of the best years in college football before it came to a screeching, unfortunate halt. The third-year sophomore recruit ran for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns on 187 carries in 2023.
Texas would not have won nine of first 10 games without him.
However, Brooks did not get to finish out the season after tearing his ACL against TCU in Week 10. His injury occurred during the second half after he rushed for 104 yards and two scores.
Brooks will be back in time for spring practice if all goes according to plan. The Longhorns will hope that he is equally as dominant next year and can help lead them to an SEC title.
Meanwhile, Arch Manning will continue to wait in the wings with Quinn Ewers expected to return for another season. No matter what happens in the future, he will forever be able to say that he won the 2023 Big 12 Championship for Texas (by taking a knee.)
Nobody can take that away from him! And his memory with Brooks on Saturday is one that he will remember forever.