Tennessee football: Vols make move to sweeten deal for Arch Manning
By Mark Powell
The Tennessee Volunteers are doing far more than milking the Peyton Manning connection to land his nephew, 2023 quarterback Arch Manning.
Manning remains one of the most coveted prospects in the 2023 recruiting class, ranked a five-star prospect, No. 1 quarterback and No. 5 overall player in his class by 247sports. Needless to say, he’s talented, and the New Orleans native will have his pick as to which college he’d like to play for come signing day.
His connections to Ole Miss and Tennessee are obvious thanks to his two uncles — NFL legends Peyton and Eli — who may or may not be able to sway him to Oxford or Knoxville. Arch prefers to make his own decision, rather than be bogged down by the choices of others in his family, as is his right as a young man ready to call a new college home.
This is why Tennessee is pulling out all the stops, even offering one of Manning’s high school teammates to sweeten the pot. The Vols have offered Isidore Newman TE Will Randle.
Tennessee still considered a longshot to land Arch Manning
Considering some of the schools the Vols are up against, it’s fair to consider them an underdog in this matter. LSU is close to home and a recruiting haven with Ed Orgeron in charge. Nick Saban remains Nick Saban, and can convince just about any prospect to come to Tuscaloosa in a one-on-one in their living room. Even Clemson and Georgia have entered the race, hoping to add a Manning to their mantle.
Tennessee is working from behind. Josh Heupel was just hired, meaning he has to form a relationship with Manning and the ’23 class before the Vols can be considered a legitimate threat.
“I’m excited to see what they (Tennessee) can do, I don’t know much about them yet,” said Arch to Rivals a few weeks back.
It’s not exactly what Tennessee fans want to hear, but it’s a start.
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