Former Alabama QB dishes boldest Arch Manning take yet, as Texas QB collects material

Arch Manning is the future of Texas football, but he is only a sub-package quarterback to starter Quinn Ewers for the time being. While Manning has looked promising in his fair share of action during his second season with the program, he is still far from a finishd product under center. He plays more like his grandfather with his father's former athleticism rather than the pocket presence of his uncles.

Thus, we are learning to accept that Manning is going to have success as a college football quarterback with serious NFL potential, but that is it going to look more like Grandpa Red than it does Uncle Peyton or Eli. It is why college football analysts like ESPN's Greg McElroy are starting to develop some good to interesting takes on the former five-star quarterback out of New Orelans.

Here is what the former Alabama starting quarterback had to say while on Get Up last Friday.

"There's a moment in the 'Mean Girls' movie where they say, 'stop trying to make fetch happen.' That's kind of what I'm going to say about this Arch thing. Let's stop trying to make Arch into his uncles right now."

While the Mean Girls analogy is kind of funny, McElroy's next point paints a better overall picture here.

"He’ll get there. He’s going to be a great player in time. I’m a real believer in his upside. I’m a believer in his mobility. I think he could have a package in this system, seriously. I think in this playoffs, it would not be surprising in the red zone if he was on the field. But being on the field for anything more than a situational play right now I think, would be disadvantageous to an offense that’s likely going to have to throw their way to victory."

Simply put, Manning is more of a runner than a thrower at this point, and throwing will win the playoff.

"They’re gonna have to throw it to the national championship … I think Arch is going to be a great player situationally, but at this point, Quinn is your guy and should hopefully take you to the promised land if you’re a Longhorn fan."

I would argue Texas must play Ewers and Manning because Ewers is looking like he is Sam Bradford.

Arch Manning has the perfect nickname to inspire greatness at Texas

While I don't think Fetch is going to catch on as a nickname, it has a better chance to stick to Manning than his student ID. Ball security is job security, yours and mine, and that most certainly applies to keeping one's identification on them at all times on a college campus. Manning did play well vs. lackluster competition when Ewers got hurt again this season, but he is far from a finished product.

If Manning was a walking stiff like his Super Bowl-winning uncles, that would be a massive problem. The good news is his mobility and powerful running style will always help the Longhorns move the sticks, especially in the red zone. As far as where I disagree with McElroy's assessment the most, I think the snowball is already rolling down the mountain, dawg. Manning is all the rage in college now.

For Texas to win its first national title since Vince Young played the game of his life nearly two decades ago, the Longhorns will need to lean on Ewers and Manning in some combination. If it is Manning in the red zone and Ewers between the 20s, then I could loosely get behind that ideology. Unfortunately, Manning's insertion into the games periodically has been as clunky as it is distracting.

Ultimately, we are still putting insurmountable hype around a fine, emerging college player, strictly because of the last name on the back of the jersey, as well as the blue-blood he plays for. Right now, I would say Manning is good enough as a quarterback to help Texas win around 10 games annually. Unfortunately, that is not good enough. Texas has championship aspirations and he is not quite ready.

In the hopes of not taking the buns out of the oven too soon, Manning needs a full offseason as QB1.