Cooper Manning Says LSU Has "Great Program" Under Ed Orgeron, Talks Son Arch Manning's Recruitment

Arch focusing on friends while hitting growth spurt this offseason

It's no secret that the future of the quarterback room in Baton Rouge is shining brighter by the day. Just think about what the Tigers have been able to do in the last few weeks alone. 

After signing freshmen Max Johnson and TJ Finley in the 2020 class, LSU most recently received commitments from Garrett Nussmeier in the 2021 class and Walker Howard in the 2022 recruiting class. Nussmeier is currently the No. 8 ranked pro style quarterback in his class and resides in the top-100 while Howard is the No. 3 ranked pro style quarterback and is ranked No. 62 overall in 2022 by 247Sports. 

The future of LSU at quarterback is something coach Ed Orgeron talked about in detail on Tuesday with "Off the Bench" hosts Jordy Culotta and T-Bob Hebert. 

 "The thing that helps us is that these players that are growing up in Louisiana, have seen this championship football team," Orgeron said. "So obviously they want to be like it, they've seen the success we've had with Joe Burrow. So we don't have to go into these homes and sell something these young men have not seen. It gives us an advantage, we feel good about the quarterback position."

The culture that LSU has established since Orgeron took over in 2017 has been a common preaching point. From current staff members to players to recruits, it's truly a sustainable, winning model that Orgeron is building in Baton Rouge. 

It's also caught the eye of Cooper Manning, a former standout receiver at Newman High School in New Orleans.

"They've got a great program and coach O has done unbelievable," Manning said Tuesday on Off the Bench. "They've got it going right now, there's no question about it and it's exciting to see and great for the state and great for the SEC."

The eldest Manning brother, injuries ended Cooper's career right when he got to Ole Miss but after two generations of Mannings, starting with Archie and extending to Peyton and Eli, a third generation is all the talk in New Orleans high school football at the moment. 

Arch Manning will only be a rising sophomore this upcoming season at Newman but he's already taking the recruiting world by storm. He started as a freshman and threw for 2,438 yards and 34 touchdowns but it's his 6-foot-3 size and already pristine mechanics that make Arch a prospect college coaches can't wait to talk to.

The Manning family has made it known that in the early years of Arch's high school career, they want him to focus on friends and football, no recruiting. Cooper said Arch has even hit more of a growth spurt in the last few months and that he just loves training and throwing the football whenever he can.

"He loves football. He's enjoying his friends and the workouts and growing, he's had kind of a growth spurt here the last couple months," Manning said. "He just enjoys being in the weight room and throwing, he just loves it. It wasn’t me pressuring him to play or, hurry up and get ready. It's kind of always been, hey can you come catch for me? Can we go throw? Can you come beat me in hoops? I've always liked that and that makes it a lot easier on a parent."

In Louisiana, LSU runs the state and the dream scenario for many fans is for Arch to one day sport purple and gold.

"Arch has grown up around—all my good friends that are locally in New Orleans are big LSU fans so they've been giving him a hard time for a long time about going up to Baton Rouge and he's been to a couple games there," Cooper said. "Arch is friends with Walker Howard, who just committed there and I know Jamie well.

"We're open to sending our kids wherever they want to go to school. I don't think MIT is calling anytime soon but we've raised them to make decisions and we support them, that's the way it works."