Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, the nephew of legendary NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, had never served as a full-time starter at the collegiate level entering this season. However, that didn’t stop the media machine from prematurely crowning Manning as the next all-time great.
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum even said that Arch was “the best college football quarterback we have seen since Tim Tebow entered the scene in 2006.”
ESPN’s NFL draft expert Mel Kiper was salivating in his evaluation of Manning, mentioning the dynamic talent he showed both throwing and running the ball in relief duty of Quinn Ewers last season.
“We put him at No. 1 because we have to. It’s Arch Manning. We saw glimpses last year of the greatness he could provide that Texas offense. Running the football, he’s got great legs. Cooper Manning, his father, was a wide receiver until he got injured. So he’s got speed – something Eli and Peyton didn’t have,” Kiper said.
However, once the regular season arrived, the tape told another story. Manning looked completely out of his depth against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the season opener against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Manning’s struggles continued over the first half of the season, with him turning in multiple shaky performances against Power 4 competition.
Then, Manning and the Longhorns turned a corner in the second half of the season, putting together several strong showings and even defeating their rivals, an undefeated Texas A&M Aggies squad, to put the Longhorns firmly back in the playoff conversation despite having three losses on the season.
A playoff appearance would work wonders for Manning’s draft stock, which took a major hit in the first half of the season. The opportunity to compete on the sport’s biggest stage against high-level competition could even serve to return Manning to the first round of NFL mock drafts should he decide to declare early.
Unfortunately, it looks like Manning will have to settle for a bowl game to improve his draft stock if he intends to declare after this season. The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings came out on Tuesday night, and the chances of the Longhorns getting into the Playoff are next to none, capping Manning’s ability to elevate his draft stock anymore this season.
It’ll be interesting to see if Manning decides to come back for his senior season or take his talents to the next level.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.