Why Urban Meyer isn’t yet sold on new Texas QB Arch Manning

Arch Manning is now “the guy” in Texas after two seasons of acting as the backup quarterback to Quinn Ewers.

The expectations are high for Manning, and not just because of his last name and the star quarterbacks who have come out of his family. His uncles are Peyton Manning and Eli Manning and his grandfather is legendary college football quarterback Archie Manning.

If he was a Manning but was a two-star recruit coming out of high school, the hype wouldn’t have been great for him. The fact of the matter, though, is that Arch Manning was a five-star recruit and the consensus No. 1 overall player in the 2023 class.

He’s also flashed moments of brilliance as a backup to Ewers over the past two seasons. So yeah, the expectations are sky-high for Arch Manning heading into 2025. High enough that there’s a real thought he should be a Heisman Trophy contender, and that’s not even to mention Texas’ expectations as it relates to winning the College Football Playoff.

One notable college football analyst, and championship-winning head coach Urban Meyer, isn’t yet sold on the up-and-coming Manning, though. 

“The question I have is: Will Arch Manning live up to the hype? I think it’s up in the air. I really do,” Meyer recently said on “The Triple Option” podcast (h/t On3). 

Meyer believes that some of whether or not Arch Manning will succeed at Texas has to do with the people around him. 

“Every great quarterback has something in common, and [that’s] great players around him. I’m sure they do. I just don’t know enough about them right now,” Meyer explained.

Meyer also wants to see how Arch Manning can handle being the undisputed leader of the Longhorns. He’s been in Ewers’ shadow for the past two years, but it’s his show in Austin now.

 “The pressure on that player to be what he’s supposed to be at that school, and from what I’ve seen, he’s a good player. I’ve not seen that at this level yet,” Meyer explained.

Last season, Arch Manning appeared in 10 games for Texas, mostly in a backup role. He threw for 939 yards and nine touchdowns with two interceptions in his appearances while also rushing for four touchdowns.