It will all sort itself out eventually. While I appreciate the effort former Texas Longhorns star and former first-round pick of the Carolina Panthers Blake Brockermeyer put forth in identifying the top 150 players in college football for CBS Sports, how is Arch Manning only 45th? Admittedly, I need to see it before I believe it with him, but this is some Texas-on-Texas crime for the whole internet to see.
While I think being ranked No. 45 overall could somewhat be justified, since we have only seen Manning play in spurts and start just two games at Texas, he is almost certainly going to end up higher than that ranking by the end of the season. Or he may just have a last name... Either way, Texas fans are more offended by this than saying there is a chance someone may prefer Carolina barbecue.
If I were doing this, I would have probably had Manning in the mid-20s, mostly because I would have run out of players I definitively knew were better than him at this point in time. Regardless, Manning is either going to make Brockermeyer eat his words or will prove the former first-round pick of the 1995 Panthers right. All I know is Manning has all the spotlight on him now, all deserved for the time being.
The reason I believe Manning will be better than the 45th best player in college is Steve Sarkisian.
Arch Manning has a great opportunity to prove all of his doubters wrong
In the day and age where talented players skip town at the first sign of adversity, Manning opted to stay in Austin. He barely played as a true freshman in 2023, serving as the team's third-stringer behind Quinn Ewers and Maalik Murphy. Manning played a bit more last season as Ewers' backup, which included a pair of starts vs. ULM and Mississippi State. He looked like a future starter then.
The biggest reason why I am buying into Manning for this season is because of the rapport he has with this coaching staff. Sarkisian and quarterbacks coach AJ Milwee have been there every step of the way for him since he committed to Texas a few years back. Texas has a few tough dates on its schedule this fall, most notably at Ohio State and at Georgia, but this team should still win 10 games.
What I really want to say here is I cannot wait to see Manning to try live up to this insurmountable hype we have forced in his plate because of his last name. He has been more of an idea of a star college quarterback up to this point. Now that Ewers has turned pro, it is time for Manning to shine. There will be hiccups along the way, but I would guess that he will improve as the season progresses.
Manning could enter next season as a top-10 player like Cade Klubnik and LaNorris Sellers are now.