By Chris Marler
Will Arch Manning live up to the hype?
To be clear, the question isn’t will Arch Manning be good enough to get Texas to their first national title in 20 years. There is honestly enough talent around him that Manning won’t need to have a Cam Newton or Joe Burrow type season for the Longhorns to make a postseason run. That’s in addition to having what could be the best defense in the SEC—and possibly the nation—supporting him. And oh by the way, that is on top of the fact that Texas will once again play one of easiest schedules in the SEC.
Steve Sarkisian has done a tremendous job turning the program around. Going into last season, the Longhorns had twice as many losing seasons since 2010 as they had 10-win seasons. Sarkisian also inherited a roster that had 21 scholarship wide receivers and eight scholarship offensive lineman. Not exactly the blueprint to win at a high level, especially in the SEC.
Fast forward to 2025 and Texas is back. No, really. This time we mean it.
However, even after a long stretch of mediocrity and underachieving, the expectations in Austin haven’t changed. Texas should be winning and competing for championships every year.
That’s where Arch Manning steps in. He was the No. 1 recruit in the country coming out of high school. To be fair, Quinn Ewers was, tool. However, Ewers didn’t have two uncles that combined for four Super Bowl rings and a grandpa that is one of the faces of the proverbial SEC Mount Rushmore.
The hype has never been as big for any high school recruit coming to the forty acres. Manning has handled it very well. He has been a great teammate, stayed humble, and made the most out of every opportunity he’s been given.
We’ve seen how far Texas can get with a good quarterback. Ewers was just that: a good college quarterback. Ewers finished last season with 65.8% completion, 3472 passing yards, and 31 touchdowns.
Those are good numbers. But, with the hype he had coming in as a recruit, combined with Steve Sarkisian’s track record, it still felt a little underwhelming. Remember what Sarkisian accomplished as Alabama’s offensive coordinator with Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones. While Texas may not have had four first-round receivers like that Alabama squad, the Longhorns certainly weren’t short on talent or playmakers.
That’s what makes the Arch Manning hype so intriguing. We have seen what we think is the pinnacle of a great college quarterback in a Steve Sarkisian offense. However, we’ve never seen it with a player carrying this much hype or possessing this level of pedigree. That’s incredible to think about considering the last three quarterbacks Sark has had have been a Heisman runner up and top ten pick, a Heisman finalist and top 15 pick, and the highest ranked recruit in the history of the Texas program.
So, if Manning can be as good as expected, Texas will be back. And this time it won’t be just a saying, it will be on the podium in Miami after winning their first national title since 2005.
