Jeff Lebby to Oklahoma could hurt Ole Miss’ chances to land Arch Manning

Ole Miss’ chances of landing Arch Manning’s five-star commitment may have taken a hit with former Rebels offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby taking over his alma mater’s offense at Oklahoma.

While it makes sense for Oklahoma grad Jeff Lebby to join Brent Venables’ staff to be the Sooners’ next offensive coordinator, this will have an impact on the Ole Miss Rebels’ chances to secure Arch Manning‘s five-star commitment for 2023.

The grandson of Archie, the son of Cooper and the nephew of Peyton and Eli is the crown jewel of the 2023 recruiting cycle. Though he does not have a true leader for his five-star commitment, Ole Miss is one of five schools he is seriously looking at attending, along with Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Texas. Given that Lebby was Manning’s top recruiter to Oxford, this is significant.

Will the Rebels lose ground in the Arch Manning sweepstakes with Lebby going to Oklahoma?

Arch Manning recruiting rumors: Ole Miss loses ground with Jeff Lebby leaving

While Manning is only a junior at Isidore Newman in New Orleans, one would expect his recruitment to amp up even more once his third season quarterbacking the Greenies comes to an end. Though none of these five teams have officially separated from the pack, here is a bird’s eye view breakdown of what the landscape looks like presently for Manning’s coveted commitment.

With Texas being terrible this past season and the Longhorns being in the mix to land Southland native and former Ohio State quarterback Quinn Ewers in the transfer portal, they might fall out of it sooner rather than later. While Clemson is intriguing over in the ACC, a 9-3 season and the Tigers losing prized defensive coordinator Brent Venables to the Oklahoma gig does not help.

Though Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss have all had great seasons, the Rebels do ultimately have the best shot at getting him, simply because he is a Manning. It does not matter if head coach Lane Kiffin spurned Uncle Peyton’s Vols a decade ago, that was years ago. Alabama does seem to line up well, but Nick Saban typically does not play true freshman quarterbacks very much at all.

As for Georgia, the Dawgs are in need of a blue-chipper at the position. Then again, who knows if head coach Kirby Smart would actually play him in a championship setting? Still, Georgia is definitely a major player in the Manning sweepstakes, thanks to a great 2021 season and the combination of Clemson and Texas struggling. But what about Ole Miss’ chances in all of this?

Look, the Rebels should still be the favorite to land him, but losing Lebby to Oklahoma cannot be understated. He was the coach on the Ole Miss staff Manning was supposedly the closest to. While Kiffin has the perception publicly of being an ace recruiter, he is more of a schematic guy and lets his assistants do the heavy lifting in that department. Again, losing Lebby to Oklahoma hurts.

Manning may wind up at Ole Miss anyway, but Lebby’s departure could be a total game changer.

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