Arch Manning hasn't won over SEC media besides Paul Finebaum just yet

Arch Manning enters the 2025 season at Texas with as much hype as any player in recent memory. So much so, in fact, that it's easy to forget that the redshirt sophomore has made exactly one start against Power 4 competition in his collegiate career. (On the one hand, he threw for 325 yards on 26-of-31 passing while running for 33 yards and another score. On the other hand, it came against Mississippi State.)

But assembled media offered a bit of a reminder at the conclusion of this week's SEC Media Days in Atlanta. When the preseason All-SEC first team was announced, it wasn't Manning at QB1. It was South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers instead.

Manning wasn't even a second-team selection; that honor went to LSU's Garrett Nussmeier. Instead, he made the third team, a fact that will certainly raise some eyebrows in and around Austin.

But really, it shouldn't. Not because Manning isn't a tremendously talented player; he is, and he should be set up for a big year in Steve Sarkisian's system and with plenty of talent around him (the Horns offense earned three other All-SEC nods, including running back Tre Wisner and receiver Ryan Wingo). He's done about as much as anyone could reasonably expect with the limited opportunities he's been given, and he's looked the part whenever he's had the ball in his hands.

But that's just the thing: He still hasn't had the ball in his hands very often. We won't know what we need to know about Manning until the lights really come on; Sellers and Nussmeier, on the other hand, have been through those fires already.

Arch Manning All-SEC snub is a reminder of the climb still to come

We've only seen Manning fully at the controls of the Horns offense three times, and two of those came against UL-Monroe and UTSA. He has plenty of arm talent, and he's tougher and more athletic as a runner than advertised coming out of high school. Again: The tools are very much there, and Texas fans have no reason not to be excited ahead of the season-opening showdown against Ohio State in Columbus.

But big questions still remain, ones we won't get the answers to until August rolls around. How does Manning handle the pressure of being the guy? How does he handle adversity, of getting knocked around a bit? Has he made the necessary strides as a passer and processor to complement his obvious physical gifts?

Until we know for sure, it's more than fair to give Sellers at least a slight leg up. He answered all of the above in the affirmative when he led the Gamecocks to a stirring comeback win on the road at Clemson to close last season, the sort of crucible that Manning simply hasn't had to endure yet. (He got all of one carry for five yards in the 2024 SEC Championship loss to Georgia.)

He looked great against the teams you'd expect Texas to beat up on, but when he was thrown into the fire with Quinn Ewers battered at home against the Dawgs, he very much looked like a (very talented) redshirt freshman. It's entirely possible that Manning lives up to every bit of the hype and leads the Horns to an SEC title and maybe even a College Football Playoff national championship. Right now, though, the resume is what it is, and it would be disrespectful to a player like Sellers who's already been there and done that to crown him prematurely.