Jordan Rodgers on Arch Manning: 'The hype doesn’t match the tape'

ESPN’s Jordan Rodgers has been outspoken regarding his doubt of Arch Manning. He’s not changing his tune ahead of Week 1.

As Manning prepares to lead Texas into battle, Rodgers is bearish on the young quarterback’s abilities. While the SEC Network analyst relented a bit, believing Manning has some innate qualities that could lead to success, he’s taking a cautionary approach.

“I think there are a few things,” Rodgers stated via Get Up, regarding Manning. “We talk about his athleticism, but for me, it’s the deep ball. That’s an area where Texas really struggled last year with Quinn Ewers, especially. But Manning is really good in this area, particularly off play-action. A lot of Steve Sarkisian’s offense is run with a pistol running-back. The quarterback has to turn his back to the defense for play-action, then quickly get his head around.

“For a young quarterback, Arch excelled at re-identifying the defense, diagnosing it, and delivering the ball downfield with accuracy. I thought that was an area where he really stood out. But I’ll say this — and I don’t know what you guys talked about when I was off-air — the hype doesn’t match the tape. There are good things, but the tape doesn’t scream first-round draft pick, top-10 pick, No. 1 overall, or Heisman hopeful.

“I think when he goes into Ohio State, he’s going to struggle because he hasn’t played. The last time we saw him against a really good defense was Georgia, and he looked out of place. He looked really good against UTSA, Louisiana-Monroe, and Mississippi State — which was the worst defense in the SEC. There’s still a lot of growth needed and a lot we need to see.”

Coming out of high school, Manning was a five-star recruit in the Class of 2023 and was the top-ranked recruit overall in that recruiting cycle. However, his playing time has been limited thus far. 

Last season, he would complete 67.8 percent of his passes for 939 yards and nine touchdowns to two interceptions. He also rushed for 108 yards and four touchdowns.

While Rodgers has questions regarding the level of competition Manning has faced thus far, it’s put up or shut up time this weekend. Ohio State will be a fascinating litmus test, with supporters and doubters alike tuned in to the Texas quarterback’s play on Saturday.