Arch Manning may have more hype surrounding him than any high school player in recent memory.
Much of that has to do with his family lineage, but his play has certainly backed up those high expectations as well. He recently made his college decision, opting to join the Texas Longhorns to play for head coach Steve Sarkisian next season.
That will bring even more expectations along with it, with many Texas fans expecting Manning to bring their football program back to prominence after some disappointing recent seasons.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence knows exactly how it feels to have the pressure of extreme expectations on his shoulders, and he offered Manning some advice on how to deal with expectations in an interview with The Spun on Tuesday.
“I’m sure he has a lot of good people in his corner that can help him, but I’d say it’s really important to learn how to manage expectations,” said Lawrence. “It’s important to block out all the noise. The only voices you should listen to are your internal expectations of yourself, your teammates, your coaches, and family. You should try to block everything else out.”
“There’s going to be a lot on his plate, but you have to show up ready to learn and grow. You’re not going to be perfect from Day 1, but he is really talented and has a lot of abilities. He needs to carry that confidence over while knowing you do have to start over. You have to do that at every level.”
Lawrence added that he is sort of going through those same expectations right now at the NFL level with the Jaguars.
He didn’t have the best year in his rookie season last year but seems to have the right attitude on how to approach things moving forward.
Lawrence is one of the few people who knows the expectations that Arch is feeling to a degree, coming out of the 2018 high school class as the top recruit in the class.
Manning would obviously love to follow in Lawrence’s career path and become a top pick in the NFL draft someday, so taking his advice is in his best interest.
[The Spun]
