Arch Manning, the No. 1 player in the 2023 247Sports class, made big waves on Thursday by ending his dizzying recruitment and announcing his commitment to Texas over Alabama and Georgia. Manning, nephew of legendary quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning and grandson of college football Hall of Fame member Archie Manning, has been the most sought-after recruiting prospect since the days of Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields.
“Committed to the University of Texas. #HookEm,” Arch Manning announced in a tweet.
Manning, a 6-foot 4-foot and 215-pound sign from New Orleans Isidore Newman High School, threw 6,307 yards, 81 touchdowns and rushed for 19 more points in three seasons.
He’s one of only seven prospects and three quarterbacks to have ever received a perfect 1,0000 rating on the 247Sports Composite, joining another pair of Texas callers Vince Young and Quinn Ewers.
Manning not only has “all the desired physical tools in the quarterback position,” according to 247Sports national recruiting analyst Cooper Petanga, but also shows “exceptional intuition and awareness, showing the ability to command and navigate the game at a very high level. “
Manning’s acquisition continues with a hot recruiting trend for Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, who is clearly making the Longhorns a destination for high-profile recruits. Sark has recently hooked up with Ewers, the former Ohio state quarterback and former five-star recruit, former Alabama tight end Jahleel Billingsley and several more stars in Austin, Texas, while strives to replenish an exhausted list.
With Ewers on campus and four-star Maalik Murphy, the No. 12 call-up to the 2022 promotion, already in the quarterback room, a significant competition for the opening concert in 2023 is on the horizon, no matter how much have Ewers this season. , his first with the Longhorns.
Working with Alabama coach Nick Saban in 2019 and 2020, Sarkisian saw first-hand how he seems to acquire top-tier talent and make that talent compete with as many top-tier players as possible in practice. Stacking quarterbacks, and all the high-profile players, one on top of the other, creates a culture of competition that championship-caliber teams need.
While Manning is passing up the opportunity to play in the established powers of the SEC, Alabama and Georgia, he will end up playing in the league when Texas (and Oklahoma) complete their transition from the Big 12 before the 2025 season, when Manning enters his third. course.
The Manning family played Arch recruitment near the vest, choosing his words carefully in public while insisting that the decision belonged only to Arch. In the end, Arch appeared to pick Texas over Georgia after Alabama solidified a contingency plan with the commitment of Eli Holstein, another top-tier quarterback of 2023, last month.
Still, Manning made official visits to all three schools in June with his stop in Texas last weekend. In closing strong with Manning, the Longhorns also picked up a commitment Sunday from their high school teammate, three-star tight soul Will Randle.
As 247Sports recruiting director Steve Wiltfong noted at CBS Sports headquarters after Manning’s visit to Texas, the Longhorns have not recruited any other quarterbacks in the 2023 promotion. “Steve Sarkisian and the company have been all about Arch Manning from the beginning, ”Wiltfong said. .
This commitment to Manning bore fruit in an important way with Manning committing himself to a program that seeks a return to his former glory. The Longhorns have achieved 10 wins only once in the last 12 seasons since the height of Mack Brown’s tenure in the first decade of the 2000s.
But with first-class facilities, fervent backing support, and a solid history, Texas has all the resources needed to compete for national titles. Now, they also have a potentially generational quarterback in the fold that can bring the show one step closer to being truly “back” the way so many Texas fans yearn to experience.