Texas football witnessed Quinn Ewers gain celebrity status thanks to NIL. But Arch Manning is fueling a far different level of hype in Austin. Leading to an honest admission from one analyst.
Danny Parkins filled in for Colin Cowherd on Friday during “The Herd” to dive into Manning Mania. His words surfaced following some eye-catching comments from an NFL owner. Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was rumored to be immediately interested in the nephew of Super Bowl winners Peyton and Eli Manning.
Parkins fired off the burning question: Should we be cool with the Arch Manning hype?
“We need to see if this kid is legit,” Parkins said. “He might be. I don't know. When it's a guy who gets all the hype beforehand, it's tough to live up to.”
Parkins sees the warning signs in overhyping the Longhorns' incoming QB. He then brought up past heavily hyped QBs who never measured up.
Arch Manning Texas hype draws comparisons to past glorified QBs
Parkins has seen past heavily hyped QBs — ones who never really lived up to the expectations.
“Jimmy Clausen obviously didn't,” Parkins mentioned first.
Clausen drew massive praise during his prep football career at Southern California powerhouse Oaks Christian in Westlake Village. The pro-style QB earned five-star status from the major recruiting outlets. He was also the state of California's top overall QB by 247Sports. Clausen even drew comparisons to LeBron James for the constant attention he received before his pro and college career took off.
Clausen lasted three seasons with Notre Dame — throwing 60 career touchdowns with 27 interceptions. He delivered back-to-back 3,000-yard seasons too. But the Fighting Irish never won more than seven games each season with Clausen behind center. His head coach Charlie Weis eventually got fired, clearing the way for Brian Kelly to take over in 2010.
Parkins didn't zero in on Clausen, though. He cited Trevor Lawrence struggling to live up to the NFL hype, despite producing decorated results at Clemson. Manning even drew a comparison to Lawrence from Joel Klatt.
The incoming QB created his own decorated high school resume that witnessed a five-star rating. Plus a bevy of scholarship offers. Texas secured the massive college football recruiting win for the 2023 class. Manning enters 2025 as the Southeastern Conference's No. 5 ranked QB. The hype is massive, but an analyst clearly fears its becoming too much.
