America's First Family of Football has produced another potential star quarterback. Arch Manning, the 15-year old nephew of NFL greats Peyton and Eli Manning and the grandson of New Orleans Saints legend Archie Manning, made his national TV debut on Thursday night. The sophomore took the field for Isidore Newman School in New Orleans on ESPN2, his dad Cooper's alma mater.
Manning is the top QB prospect for the 2023 high school class. Like his uncles, he's tall: measuring at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds. Heading into Thursday's game, Manning had completed 27 of 37 passes for 463 yards and six touchdowns and one interception on the season.
“Arch is his own entity,” his head coach, Nelson Stewart said. “That's one thing we tell him is, you be yourself. What a great resource he has with his uncles, grandfather and dad that can work with him and help, but as a sophomore, I would hope no one would put that label on him because there's so much growth still to happen. We let Arch be Arch, let him be a sophomore.”
Manning led Newman to a 55-22 victory over KIPP Booker T. Washington on Thursday. He finished 21-of-27 for 241 yards, two passing touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also rushed for two more touchdowns.
He wasn't perfect, but he showed flashes of brilliance.
Arch Manning, nephew of Peyton and Eli, is 6/6 in passing so far tonight ♨️ pic.twitter.com/uMaxnpVajf
— ESPN (@espn) October 16, 2020
Arch Manning scrambles and lobs it up on 3rd and 5 👀 pic.twitter.com/cp0x1VOh1k
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 16, 2020
Arch Manning 14/17 146 yards 1 TD— finds AJ Johnson to give Newman a 28-16 lead at the half 🏈 #Newman #Manning #highschoolfootball @aj2woo pic.twitter.com/q4fesJj78g
— NIBC (@NIBCOfficial) October 16, 2020
The young Manning isn't exactly the next Lamar Jackson, but he does seem to have more mobile ability than his uncles.
“He's not just one thing and he's not a system quarterback,” Stewart said. “If you need him to run zone reads, he can do it. You see him scramble and can find someone in the back of the end zone, throw it 25 yards on a rope, and he can just spot-throw the points when he's moving around….That's where the special part of it comes, that he just has the innate ability that most people his age don't have.”
His family had largely kept Arch out of the media spotlight through his freshman season, but that has begun to change this year. Manning threw for 2,438 yards, 34 touchdowns, and only six interceptions as a freshman.
“The Manning name is the first thing you see when you walk through the gates; he's No. 16 and he's a quarterback,” said Stewart. “But he's his own individual. That's the magic of him, that he keeps his head down, always gives credit to his teammates, and everything is done quietly with him because that's who he is.”
According to Rivals, Manning has scholarship offers from Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Duke, Tennessee (Peyton’s alma mater), Florida State, and Arkansas.
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