Alabama Lands Commit From Elite QB Eli Holstein; Tide Moving on From Manning?

The Alabama Crimson Tide has landed a commitment from an elite 2023 QB, Eli Holstein. Does that signal they have moved on from Arch Manning?

The race for elite 2023 quarterback Arch Manning just took a very interesting turn. 

On Tuesday, the Alabama Crimson Tide took a commitment from talented 2023 signal-caller, Zachary (LA) QB, Eli Holstein, perhaps signaling their plans to move on from the Manning race.

It is a development that has been rumored for weeks now, ever since Holstein de-committed from Texas A&M, and began to take heavy interest in the Crimson Tide. 

"So Bama obviously loves Eli Holstein. They're not going to basically wait around for Arch," national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins recently. "They see Eli as a guy and they sound like they're going to zero in on him and make a hard push for him if you've got (head coach) Nick Saban calling him."

A former Texas A&M commitment, Holstein de-committed from the Aggies on March 18, just two weeks after visiting Tuscaloosa for Junior Day.

Just over a week later, Holstein was once again in Tuscaloosa for another visit with Nick Saban and the Tide.

Since then, the smoke around Holstein and Alabama had only increased, leading to speculation that he had become their main QB priority.

So if Alabama has indeed moved on to Holstein, which appears the commitment at least appears to indicate, what does that mean for Manning and the Longhorns?

Well to put it simply, it seems to indicate that the Horns and Georgia will be the teams to beat from here on out. 

"This is a pretty good indicator that Alabama is out of the Arch Manning sweepstakes," Woody Wommack of Rivals tweeted. "Will be interesting to see if Arch follows through with his Tuscaloosa official."

Wommack wasn't the only insider to have these feelings either, with other national pundits and recruiting experts also weighing in on the effect of the Holstein commitment. 

"Alabama gets a QB for the 2023 class, which *seemingly* takes it out of the Arch Manning sweepstakes, which *seemingly* leaves it a Georgia-Texas battle," Seth Emerson of The Athletic said. 

Texas in particular has been thought to be in front for Manning for quite some time.

And according to On3, Texas is the favorite to land the coveted QB.

“The Longhorns now have a 38.1-percent chance of landing Manning," Crabtree said. "Texas’ move to the top spot is a big development, but so is the shift in the second-place spot. Georgia is now second, according to the On3 RPM, with a 32.5-percent chance followed by Alabama at 27.2-percent."

Earlier this week, On3's Chad Simmons also reported that Texas and Georgia were in front.

“When talking to different sources close to this recruitment, I have started to hear more about Georgia and Texas," On3's Chad Simmons wrote on Tuesday. "Alabama is still Alabama — and Nick Saban, Bill O’Brien and Pete Golding have all been involved. But there has been a little more chatter around the Bulldogs and Longhorns in recent weeks."

Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images

So for now, it appears that the smoke for Manning to the Longhorns is beginning to billow out of Austin. 

In terms of a timeline, many expect Manning to make his choice at some point in the late spring or early summer, maybe even before the Manning Passing Academy in June.

As it happens, Manning, along with a host of other talented prospects, is scheduled to take his official visit to Austin from June 17-19 -- his last of three planned officials, with Alabama and Georgia landing the other two. 

Until then, all Longhorns fans can do is continue to read the tea leaves and wait for the fire to ignite.

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You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan

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