It was only two years ago that Arch Manning was the biggest name in the college football recruiting world. Manning — the son of Cooper Manning, and the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning — was the No. 1 overall recruit in the country as he committed to Texas, according to 247 Sports. Players with that type of pedigree rarely have a long wait before they are starting, but with Quinn Ewers in front of him, Manning redshirted in his true freshman year and was set to ride the pine again this season.
Ewers went down with an injury in Texas’ Week 3 matchup against UTSA, and was ruled out for the game. Manning entered for the first bit of meaningful action of his career, and he immediately showed out.
On his very first pass of the game, Manning zipped a 19-yard touchdown to DeAndre Moore Jr. to put Texas up 21-0. Watch the play here:
Manning got Texas in the end zone again on the next possession, and this touchdown was even more impressive. On a 2nd-and-2 from their own territory, Manning faked a handoff and took off on a designed run. He busted the play 67 yards for a touchdown.
Peyton and Eli Manning couldn’t move like this. Their nephew has wheels!
That’s some Manning Fireworks for you.
Manning threw another long touchdown pass in the third quarter … though running back Isaiah Bond did most of the hard work:
And one more for Manning. This touchdown throw was 75 yards:
Ewers is playing like a first round NFL draft pick through the start of this season. Is it possible that Manning is even better? It’s wise not to take too much away from a game against UTSA, but the talent Manning possesses just jumps off the screen.
Texas can only keep Manning on the bench for so long. This will be his program before you know it.