Arch Manning had the opportunity to follow his grandfather Archie and uncle Eli to Ole Miss. He would have followed in the footsteps of his other uncle, Peyton, and played in Tennessee. He was given an open streak to join the greatest college football dynasty of all time in Alabama. He could also relate to the defending champion in Georgia. Instead, Manning chose to write his own legacy.
With his first-ever tweet, Arch Manning, the No. 1 quarterback in the 2023 class and arguably the highest in employment history, Committed to Texas. With its famous name and a perfect recruit score of 1.0000, Manning’s pledge brings Burnt Orange to the front of the national stage.
This 1.0000 rating on 247Sports Composite is the most popular recruiting label. Only seven players, three of them quarterbacks, got this perfect score on the scale. All three of these quarterbacks — Vince Young, Quinn Ewers and now Manning — have played or will play at the University of Texas. If Manning eventually signs and Ewers continues, he will be the “perfect” pair of teammates for the Longhorns 2023 squad.
Timing is perhaps the most important for Manning. As a member of the 2023 class, he will almost certainly be the Texans quarterback when the Longhorns SEC enters, which is set to happen for the 2025 season. If all works out, Manning will stand a chance of being a transformative talent on the model of Johnny Manzel at Texas A&M University. . This is something that neither Alabama nor Georgia can offer.
Granted, neither Ewers nor Manning made a collective statement. Of the former Perfectionists, four have not won a national championship: Robert Nkimdicchi, Gadvion Clooney, Rashan Gary and Ernie Sims. None of them were quarterbacks, of course, and Young left Austin, Texas, as one of the most legendary signal callers in history.
With his famous name and historical assessment behind him, Manning would have had those expectations right from the start.
Texas faces a critical recruiting time
With Manning on board, expect the Texan enlistment to increase the charge, especially in the event of an attack. The Longhorns prioritize second five-star wide receiver Jonty Cook and his four-star successor Cedric Baxter Jr. Manning’s high school classmate, Will Randle, is already on board as a three-star recruit.
Expect more high-profile players to commit as the process ends in the early signing period in December and National Signing Day in February. The chance to play with Manning should be a draw like no other. Anything less than a recruit class among the top five would be a massive disappointment for Texas.
When Ewers, a former number one, enlisted himself, exited from Texas on October 28, 2020, and later signed with Ohio State, it signaled the end of the Tom Hermann era in Austin. (Ewers moved to Texas in December 2021.)
Barely after 18 months, Sarkissian succeeded where Hermann failed. Sarkissian could have a similarly difficult time keeping Manning on board, especially if the Horns fail to meet expectations in 2022. However, if Manning does make it to campus, he will change Sarkissian’s name and program in the long run.
List management will be very important
Manning is expected to join before the 2023 season, likely in the spring. If the Texas quarterback goes according to plan, that means Longhorns could have up to five scholarship signal callers on the roster heading into the season.
Hudson Card is the only player on the list with starting experience. However, former No. 1 recruit Ewers, who moved from Ohio in December 2021, is the favorite to win a starting job in 2022 on the Card, four-star signer Murphy’s owner, Charles Wright. By the time the 2023 season comes around, Ewers will likely have a full season of holding the position on his side.
Manning is a special talent and you should compete at the start right away. However, Ewers is a unique talent of his own after being ranked number one in the general classification and a rating of 0.9999. There is a strong chance for Ewers Hanging on the start post Heading into 2023 over Younger Manning. However, Ewers will be eligible for the NFL draft after just one season of overlap, paving the way for Manning to take over in 2024.
The tricky part is this: What if Manning beat the Ewers at the start? Ewers is likely either stuck working as a backup in Texas or sitting for a year in residence and potentially delaying his transition to the NFL because he has already used the one-year transfer exemption. The only other option is for him to get a waiver to immediately play elsewhere, and while players have been more successful in petitioning for those recently, that’s not a sure thing.
If Ewers wins the quarterback job as expected in 2022, that likely means the card will enter the transfer gate at some point. Murphy and Wright could also consider leaving if Manning is selected as next in line. The only downside to having a very talented quarterback room is trying to keep enough signal callers on the list in the virtual free market. With talents like Manning and Ewers out there, though, any coaching staff would handle these issues.
Where are the competitors heading from here?
Both recent National Championship winners, Georgia and Alabama, have put a lot of eggs in Manning’s basket. Bama came out ahead of Manning’s commitment early and flipped 56th overall QB Eli Holstein to lead the enlistment class. Crimson Tide also signed five-star QB Ty Simpson and top 100 QB Jalen Milroe across the last two categories. Depth in position will not be a problem.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have 12 offered quarterbacks, according to 247 Sports, nine to indicate callers already committed elsewhere. Georgia can prioritize new options, like Dylan Lonergan’s Top 100 Local Producers, or draw on the depth it’s built over the past three seasons.
Ole Miss probably made a public case as anyone to get the dual inheritance. Coach Lynn Kevin wore the Eli Giants jersey until he retired the jersey, and Rebel drawing “Manning” In the end zones for today. Naturally, Arch was visiting that match. However, Ole Miss chose to receive three-star QB Marcel Reed, #431 overall, from the Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville. The Rebels are also still in the Jaden Rashada lottery, which will be cleared on Sunday, June 26th live on CBS Sports HQ.
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