Louis Riddick breaks down Arch Manning struggles, impact on perception

ESPN’s Louis Riddick broke down the struggles of Arch Manning and how that impacted the perception of the Texas quarterback. Most analysts were quick to proclaim him as the Heisman winner and No. 1 overall pick in 2026.

Heck, Manning might not even go pro until 2027 and he’s still a work in progress despite the elite flashes. Riddick didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but that’s the perception for a lot of people, despite just three games in 2025.

There’s no question Manning has played inconsistently so far, but that’s not the sole indicator of his entire career. No one seems to be able to live in the moment and be patient with Manning.

“We’re not seeing a finished product, but we want to see finished products,” Riddick said on Get Up. “And we sometimes are very guilty of evaluating these guys on a week to week, throw to throw type of basis, and we’re making career-type proclamations about these guys based off of every single throw. And it doesn’t work that way. I think with Arch, look, he’s in a fantastic system with a fantastic coach, has fantastic bloodlines. Are you seeing some inconsistencies? Sure. 

“One of the things that I do believe, though, and my mindset has changed, especially when we’re talking about this argument of accuracy, it has changed ever since Josh Allen. (He) was able to correct his deficiencies with a lot of the work that he did in order to really perfect his mechanics and make them become something that was second nature to him, where his muscle memory kind of kept him where he needed to be so he could deliver the football accurately.”

Manning and another QB referred to by Riddick, LaNorris Sellers, had a lot of hype week to week. All of sudden, neither are talking points anymore, unless there’s a negative connotation.

“I think those kinds of things can be worked on with a young man like this who has this kind of pedigree,” Riddick said. “I don’t think it’s time to panic. He’s still very young in his career, but again, we already had given him the Heisman before he even played it, right? And you see how quickly those odds flip as far as the Heisman is concerned. Remember what were we talking about last time we were on here? LaNorris Sellers, right? He’s going to be at the very top of the list, right? He gets knocked out of the game last week, and all of a sudden now he’s, like, off everyone’s radar.”

So far this season, Manning has 579 yards, six touchdowns, three interceptions, a 55.3% completion percentage, 112 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. He’ll look to bounce back this week against Sam Houston before SEC play vs. Florida in October.