The Texas football program has a lot of hype coming into the 2025 college football season, and a big part of the reason why is the presence of quarterback Arch Manning. Manning spent last year as a backup to Quinn Ewers, who has since been drafted to the NFL, but did showcase his elite ability in his limited minutes during the 2024 season.
Still, Manning, who is the nephew of NFL Hall of Famers Peyton and Eli Manning, is not without his skeptics in the national media.
Recently, Jordan Rodgers, who similar to Manning has seen his profile rise due to a famous family member, took to the ESPN airwaves to relay a hot take about Arch Manning.
“The hype doesn't match the tape,” said Rodgers, per Get Up on X, formerly Twitter. “There are good things, there are some good things, but the tape to me doesn't tell me you've got a first round draft pick, or a top ten or a number one overall draft pick, or a Heisman hopeful. I think he's going to go into Ohio State and he's going to struggle, because he hasn't played anybody. The last time we saw him against a really good defense was Georgia, and he looked out of place. He looked really good against UTSA, Louisiana Monroe, and Mississippi State, the worst defense in the SEC. I think there's still a lot of room for him to grow.”
Is Arch Manning overrated?
As Rodgers mentioned, Manning has yet to see any consistent minutes against even an average college football defense, let alone a good one. Walking into Ohio State for a road game to open up the new season could certainly provide some “welcome to the big stage” moments for Arch Manning.
There's also no doubt that Manning's last name has played a role in his hype and popularity over the last few years, dating back to his days in high school.
Still, Manning has a chance to prove all of his skeptics wrong this season, beginning on Saturday against Ohio State at 12:00 PM ET from Columbus.
