Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning Gets Major Praise from Legend

Texas Longhorns young star quarterback Arch Manning received major praise from a college football legend.

Texas Longhorns quarter backs Arch Manning during spring practice at the Frank Denius practice fields in Austin, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. / Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman

The Texas Longhorns are heading into the 2024 college football season with Quinn Ewers as their starting quarterback. He is expected to lead Texas to the College Football Playoff and national championship contention.

Behind him at the quarterback position is young superstar Arch Manning.

Well known as the nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning, the Longhorns backup is penciled in as the clear-cut starter for the 2025 college football season. Fans want to see him play now, but he'll likely have to wait one more year.

Despite only throwing five career college passes, Manning has received an insane amount of hype. He is expected to be a superstar next season and immediately become a top 2026 NFL Draft candidate.

Now, he has received major praise from legendary college football head coach Nick Saban.

"I think Texas, if their defense comes through and they can replace some of the interior people that they lost that were high draft picks and all that, they're really good offensively. And even though their quarterback has missed time, [Quinn] Ewers, has missed time in the last couple years, Manning was lights out in the spring game."

Saban continued forward, talking a bit more about Manning specifically.

"Arch was like 21-for-25 for 347 yards. That depth at quarterback is probably really important for them because Ewers has missed time the last couple of years, a game or two, which could really affect where you end up. So I really like Texas."

Manning is keeping himself ready for a chance to play. If Ewers gets hurt or struggles this season, he'll be ready if his number is called by head coach Steve Sarkisian.

While he hasn't been on the field much for the Longhorns, he has found a lot of success off of it.

On3 currently has Manning ranked as the No. 3 overall NIL athlete in the nation. When it comes to college football players, he's ranked No. 2 with a valuation of $3.1 million.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Manning at Texas.

Should he be able to reach his full potential in 2025, he will be well on his way towards making the same kind of career path for himself in the NFL that both of his uncles ended up having.