LOOK: Five-star QB Arch Manning in Bryant-Denny
After a visit to Georgia that featured chest-painted, red-wigged Dawg fans spelling out “We Want Arch,” Arch Manning is in Tuscaloosa for the Ole Miss–Alabama game.
Arch Manning was seen posing for a photo with Notre Dame 2022 wide receiver commit Amorion Walker while the two inside Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Manning – the nation’s No. 1 junior prospect out of New Orleans Isidore Newman and the third generation of Manning quarterbacks set to star in college football – is getting the red-carpet treatment from Alabama coaches and fans.
Second fall visit for Arch Manning
The visit to Alabama is the second stop on the Arch Manning fall tour.
Arch is the son of Cooper Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli and the grandson of Archie. Peyton, Eli and Archie were All-SEC stars who reached the NFL. Eli won two Super Bowl MVPs, while Peyton landed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Arch Manning plans to go to Texas on Oct. 16, Ole Miss on Oct. 23 and Clemson on Oct. 30. Manning previously said he could visit local Tulane and remains in contact with LSU and Stanford as well. The battle for the five-star quarterback’s commitment is shaping up to be one of the biggest in recent memory.
It’s so big that Nick Saban subtly dropped a recruiting pitch for Manning when he visited ESPN’s Monday Night Football “ManningCast” to chat with Peyton and Eli.
“As the quarterback, it’s really important that you have good players around you,” Saban said during the visit.
Manning discusses visits, social media hype
After Newman’s 59-7 demolition of Pearl River, in which Arch Manning threw five touchdown passes, he said he’s looking forward to the Alabama trip and seeing what a game at Bryant-Denny Stadium “is all about.”
Manning also talked with On3’s Jake Reuse about the UGA student section that had painted the special message for him.
“That was pretty cool, I guess,” Manning told Reuse after Newman’s game Friday night. “I didn’t really get to see it in person, but I saw it all over social media.”
Manning also told Reuse he has built a strong relationship with Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian.
“They are just good guys,” Arch Manning said. “Obviously they are great in offense, offensive-minded. They haven’t punted in two games. So, they’re really good, and they’re just laid back, good people. That’s the kind of guys I like.”
No timeline for commitment
With visits to all five of the schools in contention for his commitment scheduled for this fall, Arch Manning will have a chance to narrow things down over the next several months, but he insists there’s no set timeline for any decisions to be made.
“It’s going to be a hard decision,” he said. “They’re all great schools, so I haven’t really thought of that too much. I’m not even there yet.”
Wherever he does end up, though, he knows specifically what he’s looking for in a school and a program.
“I think you want to be surrounded by good people and somewhere you want to be for four years,” he added. “I think it’s not all about football, but I guess that’s a big piece. You just want to be somewhere that feels like home.”