Even at the NFL Combine, Arch Manning was a topic of conversation.
Seemingly everyone wants to talk about the former five-star quarterback who will be taking over the Texas offense this season as the Longhorns have been to back-to-back College Football Playoffs but cannot get over the hump to win a national title.
Manning will be next to try as he follows in the footsteps of five-star Quinn Ewers, who had a solid college career but probably won’t live up to first-round NFL Draft expectations.
Everybody was talking about Manning in Indianapolis from coach Steve Sarkisian, to former teammates and all had rave reviews.
“I’m excited for Arch,” Sarkisian said in the booth with NFL Network’s Rich Eisen and Daniel Jeremiah. “I feel like his progression has been perfect. A chance for a couple years to be with Quinn and to A, learn who we are systematically but B, to watch how Quinn has handled things.
“Quinn’s journey was not the smoothest and there were injuries and how he responded to those. At Texas if you don’t go 30-for-30 with five touchdowns, everybody is going to point to the one or two incompletions and all that stuff. How Quinn handled that was good for Arch.
“The beauty for us is (Manning) got two starts for us this year. He started our SEC opener against Mississippi State so that exposure was good for him. But now we’re watching him in winter workouts and offseason stuff really become the leader of the team like the quarterback has to be and he has such a great personality that his teammates really respond to him, the coaches have started to respond to him and so things are off to a really good start for him.”
The Heisman favorite entering the season – even ahead of grizzled veterans like LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier and superstar Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith – expectations are high.
He’s a Manning. He’s the former No. 1 prospect. He’s at Texas. And the Longhorns have every piece possible for a run at a national title.
“He has the heart to do it,” former Texas receiver Matthew Golden said. “Arch comes in each and every day and he goes to work. He acts like a walk-on. He has a story, he’s trying to make a name for himself.
“He can spin the ball, real well. He can run the ball. I feel like there’s nothing Arch can’t do. I’m excited to see what he’s going to do next year. For his caliber, for how young he is, he understands the game at a high level. You can tell when he’s in the game. Just waiting for him to get the opportunity to start, it’s going to be good.”
The former New Orleans (La.) Isidore Newman star quarterback was one of five five-star QBs in the 2023 Rivals250. All have taken different paths.
Nico Iamaleava is Tennessee’s starter. Dante Moore transferred from UCLA to Oregon to sit behind Dillon Gabriel and learn and presumably take over this season. Malachi Nelson has already transferred twice and is now at UTEP. Jackson Arnold has transferred from Oklahoma to Auburn.
For Manning, the plan was always to sit one year behind Ewers, acclimate and learn. He had to sit for two years which might not have been the original idea but Manning was patient, was humble and now gets handed the keys to the Lamborghini of offenses, not to be confused with that kind of luxury car Texas uses during recruiting visits.
Anyway, Manning is clearly an Uber man based off of his recent lucrative NIL deal.
Finally, this is Manning’s team. The eyes of Texas are upon him.
“He’s the most humble kid I’ve ever been around,” former Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron said.
“Second week he was there, as a freshman, he was two lockers down from me, he asked to take my (gear) to the laundry and I said, ‘Arch, you’re good, you don’t have to do it.’ He wanted to do it. He wanted to show me he wasn’t better than anybody, that he was still part of this team. I told him he didn’t have to do that and I appreciate that but the sky is the limit for that kid.”
