Greg McElroy admits he has 'some worries' about Arch Manning

Heading into the 2025 college football season, Texas quarterback Arch Manning was tabbed as one of the next great legendary figures in the sport. Although he started just three games last season (in place of an injured Quinn Ewers), many were ready to crown him as the Heisman Trophy winner before the season even kicked off.

Manning’s first big-time start as Texas‘ starting quarterback however didn’t quite go to plan, as his Longhorns fell 14-7 to Ohio State in Columbus. His performance wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really jump off the page like many expected it to. The third-generation Manning passed for just 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the loss.

ESPN‘s Greg McElroy discussed Manning on the latest edition of Always College Football, where he admitted that he does in fact have some worries about the Texas quarterback and his wide receivers.

“I do have some worries about Arch,” McElroy said. “I do have some worries about some of their protection issues. I’m not nearly as high on their wide receivers as I was going into the game against Ohio State. I think that group has a lot of room to improve and I think they can. There’s talent on that roster.”

Texas’ receivers totaled just 90 yards on seven catches

In the loss, just four receivers (Parker Livingstone, Ryan Wingo, DeAndre Moore Jr. and Daylan McCutcheon) hauled in at least one catch. In all, the foursome combined for just seven catches for 90 yards and one touchdown. Tight end Jack Endries led all targets with four receptions for 50 yards.

“It was predictable,” ESPN‘s Desmond Howard said about Manning’s struggles. “I was on Stephen A. Smith‘s show on the Friday before the Ohio State game and I went on First Take and I was telling them that I thought the hype and Heisman talk around him was unwarranted. I said that unless he was a guy that was on stage last year at the Heisman ceremony as a legitimate finalist, he doesn’t warrant having his name mentioned in the same breath as that trophy. If you think he’s somewhat a quarterback that’s gonna have a successful season, why don’t you start talking about the Davey O’Brien Award or the Johnny Unitas Award.”

“Whatever those quarterback awards, but not the best football player in the country. And I also said that he was a guy who didn’t jump out at me on tape. He had moments and they’re gonna show those big moments on SportsCenter, but if you really watch the tape there was nothing consistent that made you think he was the best player in college football.”

Manning and the Longhorns will be back in action on Saturday against San Jose State. Kick-off is scheduled for 12:00 PM on ABC.