This season’s struggles by Arch Manning caught a lot of people off guard. Especially, the national media who hailed him as the second coming before he was named a starter, then relished in knocking him down. But if you look closely at Manning’s background, you’ll see why he might not have immediately lived up to the unrealistic expectations.
If you’re a scout and you see Manning in warm ups, or at a recruiting camp, a combine or in a game at Isidore Newman High School in Louisiana, he does look like a future NFL star. There’s a reason why all of the recruiting services had him as the No. 1 player in the 2023 recruiting class.
Physically, Manning has all the tools. He has size, good speed, a strong arm and athleticism. He is a scout’s dream. Manning looked ready last year when he started a couple of games after Quinn Ewers oblique injury.
But Manning’s starts were against UL Monroe and Mississippi State. Monroe is not even a good lower tier opponent and the Bulldogs were by far the worst team in the SEC last year. He played a half against UTSA, which again isn’t exactly top tier competition either.
Lower level competition is almost all Manning has known. Manning went to a private high school in Louisiana. His parents didn’t send him to a football prep academy like IMG or Mater Dei. He didn’t grow up in high level Texas high school football, which has produced dozens of innovative offensive-minded coaches.
He stayed home and was a private school kid. Manning went to Isidore Newman in New Orleans. His uncles Eli and Peyton, as well as his father Cooper all went to Newman. While it is a great school academically, it isn’t anywhere close to high level high school football.
In Texas, for example, coaches like Art Briles and Todd Dodge revolutionized the spread offense. About a decade ago, most schools were running some form of high octane offense. Defenses were forced to get more sophisticated too. Dozens of the QBs that have come out of Texas have thrived in the NFL. They were taught to read defenses and make decisions quickly.
Sure Manning got instruction in some of the basics of the more complex aspects of playing football, but like against ULM or UTSA, his sheer athleticism was able to overpower his opponents. He had a lot to learn when he got to Texas.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian knew that. Sark isn’t one to publicly talk negatively about his players. He pumps them up. But even last season when the media and fans were calling for Arch to usurp Ewers, Sark always wanted everyone to tap the brakes. He knew Manning was a project.
My belief is Sark always saw Manning as a two year project. The day after the 2025 NFL Draft was over, Manning was topping mock drafts all over the internet for next year. That was in APRIL! He was never going to be Tom Brady from Day 1.
Manning has to learn what it is like to excel with elite talent trying to blast him, sack him, trick him, rush him and crush him. “Reading defenses” sounds easy, but there is a level of experience needed to really become good at it.
If your reads aren’t on point, you start rushing and running around and trying to let your natural athleticism win the day like you did in high school. But that doesn’t work against Ohio State, or even Florida.
Sark is hailed as a great trainer of quarterbacks for the NFL. But no one said all of that training is just in practice and the QB is dominant the moment he walks on the field. There are real life teachings that can’t happen until he plays superior competition. That’s never really happened to Manning until this season.
Saturday was a huge step forward in the maturation of Manning. Mistakes he made just a few weeks ago were gone in the Cotton Bowl during Texas’ win over Oklahoma. Most importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over.
He took care of the ball. He put himself in position to make a few NFL level throws. His mind was calmer. His play was calmer. He didn’t miss his wide receivers as much because the game is slowing down thanks to real world experiences.
Manning’s numbers weren’t eye-popping Saturday. But he took care of the ball and looked much more confident under center.
Will he continue to struggle at times this year? Absolutely. But you can see his improvement right before your eyes.
Texas may go on some epic run this year and make the playoffs. But more likely, this is the year Manning learns to be an elite QB against elite competition. Then look out next season. He might just be the dominant generational QB everyone pegged him to be.
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Texas QB Arch Manning’s early struggles might be traced to weak high school competition
Reporting by Trey Luerssen, Longhorns Wire / Longhorns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
