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- Arch Manning took a visit to Texas and apparently the Longhorns impressed the highly sought-after 2023 prospect.
- Texas is missing a key piece in its recruiting pitch, however: winning football games.
- Check out more sports coverage at BroBible here.
Nobody has a clue where Arch Manning, the No. 1 quarterback in the class of 2023, will take his talents in college given the fact that he’s still so young and every school in the country is after his commitment and signature. The nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning is starting to take visits to some of the top programs in the country, and with that, the rumors and speculation will continue to grow until he officially commits.
Manning is one of the most hyped college football recruits of all-time given his last name and his abilities under center, so naturally, rumors of Texas being in the mix have started to gain traction after his recent visit to Austin.
According to 247 Sports, the Longhorns and first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian “hit a home run” putting them “squarely in the mix” for Manning.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Manning commit to the Longhorns. After all, this is Texas we’re talking about, one of just a handful of programs that can recruit off of their name, history (and money) alone.
There is one key factor working against the Longhorns when it comes to getting a commitment from Manning or any other top recruit for that matter, and that is actually winning football games.
Texas has had exactly one nationally relevant season since 2010, back in 2018 when the Longhorns won the Sugar Bowl and finished the year 10-4.
Since parting ways with Mack Brown after the 2013 season, the Longhorns have hired three different head coaches with Sarkisian being tapped as the next man to try and turn things around in Austin.
Arch Manning was born in 2005, so he literally has no memory of Texas’ success in the mid to late 2000s, he’s only seen the Longhorns struggle, for the most part.
Sarkisian could turn things around in a quick fashion and he’s most likely going to have to actually have a shot at landing Manning because while Texas is entering yet another rebuild, programs like Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, and Georgia – all of which are after Manning – will continue to rack up meaningful wins.
LSU is also a major player here with Manning being from New Orleans as is Ole Miss, where he has extremely strong family ties. Arch’s grandfather, Archie, and uncle Eli had stellar careers under center in Oxford while his father, Cooper, played at Ole Miss for a brief time as well. Ole Miss has to be an intriguing spot for any quarterback to play given Lane Kiffin’s fast-paced, gunslinging offensive scheme.
Texas is still Texas, though. Despite the Longhorns’ struggles and irrelevancy over the past decade-plus, they have continued to recruit at an extremely high level having only had one recruiting class ranked outside of the Top 20 since 2010.
You could absolutely make the point that maybe Arch is the type of kid that wants to go turn around a historically great program, but if Texas continues to put together five to seven-win seasons while other blue blood programs continue to thrive, it could make things that much more difficult for the Longhorns to stay on Manning’s list of schools.