Texas football: Longhorns make their push in Arch Manning sweepstakes

Texas football fans are so beyond pumped that Arch Manning’s high school teammate Will Randle has just committed to the Longhorns program.

With the Arch Manning sweepstakes winding down, the Texas football program makes its final push towards landing the five-star quarterback from New Orleans.

In the wake of Manning making his third official visit this past weekend in Austin, the Longhorns were able to secure the commitment of his three-star tight end high school teammate Will Randle. According to the 247Sports Composite, Randle is the No. 25 player from Louisiana, the No. 34 tight end in the country and the No. 670 overall prospect. He had 11 official offers as of June 19.

Here is the sweet graphic On3’s Hayes Fawcett tweeted out about Texas landing Randle for 2023.

Texas football: Longhorns make a big push to win the Arch Manning sweepstakes

Look. This is a two-team race for Manning between Texas and Georgia. While he did take an official visit to Alabama two weekends ago, the Crimson Tide getting the commitment from four-star Eli Holstein largely removed them from serious consideration. Though Texas has been seen as the slight favorite to win Manning’s commitment, keep in mind that Georgia never offered Randle.

Of all the things Texas has done to try to woo Manning to Austin, it is hard to overlook the fact the Longhorns were able to offer his best friend from high school. However, not all high school best friends end up going to the same university, even if they do plan on playing major college athletics. Frankly, until Fawcett or somebody else breaks the news, it is still a two-team race for Manning.

Admittedly, it was going to be hard for Texas to top what Georgia did during Manning’s official visit to Athens a few weekends ago. If Randle’s commitment is the deciding factor in Manning picking a school, then good for Texas in being able to set the wheels in motion. While Dawg Nation should feel a tad nervous about Randle’s commitment, Georgia is still the reigning national champions.

Texas getting Manning’s best friend from high school to commit certainly raised a few eyebrows.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.