Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning entered the season with an almost unfathomable amount of hype considering he’d never served as a full-time starter at the collegiate level and had not even started a road game.
Paul Finebaum, one of ESPN’s top college football analysts, said that Arch, “is the best college football quarterback we have seen since Tim Tebow entered the scene in 2006.”
ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper was just as high on Manning, ranking him as the top quarterback prospect in the 2026 class.
“We put him at No. 1 because we have to. It’s Arch Manning. We saw glimpses last year of the greatness he could provide that Texas offense. Running the football, he’s got great legs. Cooper Manning, his father, was a wide receiver until he got injured. So he’s got speed – something Eli and Peyton didn’t have…” Kiper said.
However, it appears that at least one of the ESPN employees has decided to walk back his words, as the young quarterback prepares for his third start of the season.
“The bottom line is Arch Manning is not playing like an elite quarterback,” Finebaum said on Tuesday, according to Awful Announcing. “He’s barely playing like a pedestrian quarterback. He had some good plays (against San Jose State), but that game doesn’t mean anything. Ultimately, I think we all jumped the gun. Is he in the Heisman race? No, Arch Manning is not in the Heisman race as of today.”
“I still think Arch Manning can have a big-time season,” Finebaum continued. “When he starts seeing the road games in the SEC … I think he has a chance. And what he doesn’t need is his coach babying him in the media. That’s the worst thing that can happen when you already have the name that a lot of people want to hate on, privilege that a lot of people want to scorn.”
Fans reacted to Finebaum’s new approach toward Manning on social media.
“WE????!! I hate sports media so much. Get this goofy guy off tv man. Sports media has sunken so low,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Didn’t this buffoon promise to retire if Miami beat Dame? What a cock(roach),” someone else added.
It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the season goes for Manning.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.