ESPN's Seth Wickersham reveals how city of Austin impacted Arch Manning's recruitment

Through Arch Manning’s high-profile recruitment, the sense was he came down to three schools. Texas, Alabama and Georgia were the apparent finalists for the Five Star Plus+ prospect who was looking to follow in his grandfather and uncles’ footsteps.

Ultimately, Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns won out, and Manning is in the early part of his first season as the starter. But while reporting for his book American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback, ESPN’s Seth Wickersham said UT had a key selling point: the city of Austin.

At more than 993,500 people as of 2024, Austin is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Given the amount of attention on Manning – who, even as a freshman, was one of the top names in college football – Wickersham said the New Orleans (La.) Isidore Newman product saw an opportunity to blend in a bit more than in more traditional “college town” settings.

“I think this was really interesting is, he saw Austin – it’s not really a college town. It’s a city,” Wickersham said Tuesday on The Paul Finebaum Show. “And he saw it as a place that he might be able to have a little bit more anonymity than he would in Athens, Georgia, for instance.

“I think that given some of the conversations that I report about in the book between him and his uncle Eli about how to manage fame, I think it’s safe to say that even in Austin, people recognize him and I think a lot of cell phones are pointed in his direction.”

‘It was Arch driving this thing’

Of course, there were other key factors in Texas securing Arch Manning’s commitment. Seth Wickersham said Manning particularly took interest in the fact Sarkisian called plays in addition to serving as the head coach. That level of continuity was also a selling point.

“It was Arch driving this thing the entire way,” Wickersham said. “It was his decision. I think that his dad knew how to support him and also let him make his own decision. He picked Texas for a couple reasons. No. 1, he really wanted to be part of a program that was on the upswing and maybe he could take it to a higher level. He liked that Steve Sarkisian was a play-caller and the head coach, so there would be continuity there.”

Manning ultimately spent two seasons behind Quinn Ewers on the Texas depth chart, getting two starts under his belt in 2024, before becoming the Longhorns’ full-time starting quarterback this year. His first game in 2025 was an up-and-down performance against Ohio State as he completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

In Week 2, though, Manning bounced back well against San Jose State. He went 19 of 30 for 295 yards and four touchdowns as Texas got the 38-7 victory over the Spartans.