Joel Klatt defends Arch Manning as top-five player in college football despite lack of experience

There’s no ignoring the hype around Texas QB Arch Manning ahead of his first season as a starting quarterback in college football this year. Joel Klatt was the latest to add to that as he, despite the inexperience, already has him as a top-five player in the sport.

On his show on Monday, Klatt released his ranking of the Top-10 players for 2025, including Manning at No. 4. He did so fully recognizing that he has made only a dozen appearances with just a pair of starts through two seasons, which will make some dismiss him being this high on a rating like his.

“I know he hasn’t been a full-time starter. And I know that, like, people, I do think people are going to get – I don’t know about tired of the hype is the right word or thought to convey. But, like, Arch Manning deserves a spot on this list,” stated Klatt.

“There are some – and I get this, I get it. Like, listen, I get it. Because of his name, people roll their eyes and they’re like, ‘Hey, man, let him do something. Is he really that good?’. My answer is yes,” Klatt said. “If you watch the film, if you actually see the way that he plays, the way that he moves, the throws that he can make? Texas could be a more dangerous offense because of Arch Manning. Now, you understand, like, they had the experience of Quinn Ewers. But Arch attacks the grass on the field in a different way.”

Again, there’s no denying the lack of snaps for Manning to this point as the backup behind Ewers as a true and redshirt freshman. Still, in that same sample size as a reserve, Klatt has seen things that could now make him a star as the Longhorns’ QB1.

“If you just look at the way that he played when he got his chances to play, it was dynamic. We only got to see him for a little bit. Played in ten games, yes, but there was only the two starts, and I want to point more so to the two starts than all the other time where he was kind of a specialty-type player, filling a role on the offense. He would come in in a lot of short yardage situations,” said Klatt. “In his two starts, that’s when I thought his potential popped. In his two starts, he reminded me a lot of Trevor Lawrence when Trevor Lawrence was at Clemson – an athletic guy that didn’t beat you with his athleticism, but could, but beat you with his arm. Smart, competitive. Great pedigree, obviously. In his two starts, 13 total touchdowns, two interceptions. Like, the guy can play and he’s very, very good.”

“Manning is going to be a better option for Texas. I think he’s going to be one of the best quarterbacks in the country,” Klatt said. “When you look at the way he played in those two starts, it jumps off the tape. I thought, late in the year, that they could be in a better position if he would’ve played. Now, that doesn’t account for the experience of Ewers, whom I loved. But he’s a major threat, speaking of Manning, in a lot of different ways. Texas is likely going to be looking downfield a lot more than they were in the last couple of years, and that’s scary because they’ve been bringing in so many talented and fast wide receivers.”

Through two seasons, Manning is 63-95 (66.3%) when passing for 969 yards, nine touchdowns, and two interceptions while rushing for 115 yards and four more scores. Essentially all of that came in his ten outings last year, including his two starts with Ewers out in wins against UL Monroe and Mississippi State. That dual-threat ability, albeit in limited action, is what Klatt is expecting to see from Manning full-time now in leading the Texas offense under Steve Sarkisian.

“One, I do believe that you have to account for him as an athlete and as a runner, and we saw that in some of those games,” said Klatt. “His ability to take it the distance is there, so you have to account for that at least, at a minimum, which is difficult because there’s only many defenders that you get to deploy as a defensive coordinator.”

“Then you have the aspect that he can threaten the grass on the field to, what I would say, a greater extent than Quinn Ewers did. Ewers was a really good player. I loved Ewers, but Manning makes throws that I think scare defensive coordinators versus just, yeah, he can make the throw,” continued Klatt. “He can threaten the outside of the numbers from the far hash down the field. Well now, all of a sudden, what you’re doing is you’re expanding the defense. When you expand the defense, you expand the seams in the defense. You put a greater level of importance on each individual’s ability to tackle in space. And now, all of a sudden, the defense is under more stress. When the defense is under more stress, they’re more apt to give up big plays, give up yardage, give up first downs, give up points.”

With his talent, his last name, and the team he’ll be playing for, Manning Mania is obviously in full effect coming into this fall. Klatt can feel it as much as anyone too considering he’ll be on the call for his first game of the season in what’ll be a top matchup against Ohio State, a rematch of their playoff semifinal in in Cotton Bowl back in January, in The ‘Shoe.

“I really, really love the thought of doing that game opening week against Ohio State,” Klatt said. “Arch getting out there. It’s his car, it’s his keys. It’s his program. And he gets to go against a defensive coordinator in Matt Patricia, who’s going to be trying to learn the college game for the first time with a bunch of new players. Now, he’s going to have to face Caleb Downs, who’s one of the better players in the country. But that’s going to be an incredible matchup on FOX.”

This is all just a lot for Manning to live up to. Still, Klatt clearly thinks that he can with him already having him in the top-five in the country without ever being a true, full-on starting quarterback to this point in college.