Rece Davis expresses surprise Arch Manning committed to Texas over SEC schools

Texas fans had plenty of reason to celebrate on Thursday when Arch Manning announced his commitment. The Longhorns led in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine — but the decision to go to the Big 12 over the SEC was still surprising to some.

College GameDay host Rece Davis joined ESPN’s First Take to talk about that very subject. He echoed previous sentiments about Manning’s relationship with Steve Sarkisian, dating back to his days as the offensive coordinator at Alabama. That was a big reason why Texas was able to land the No. 1 recruit in the nation, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

But Georgia was also in the mix, and Davis wondered if there was a scenario where Manning still ended up with the Bulldogs. However, with Texas’ move to the SEC coming down the road, that doesn’t seem likely.

“Talking to people close to Arch and also people who’ve worked with him, the relationship with Sarkisian was huge and has been there from his days as a coordinator at Alabama and carried over to Texas,” Davis said. “But what I had thought — and from hearing things in recent weeks — is that Georgia has sort of turned the tide, so to speak. I expected that he would go to Georgia. But I guess the relationship with Sarkisian carried the day.

“I think with any other player, I would say, ‘Eh. Don’t think this is over for Georgia yet. Let’s see how Texas does. Remember, Texas had a six-game losing streak that included a loss to Kansas this past year. Let’s see how it goes.’ But because of that word as bond thing that you get with the Mannings, which is very admirable, and that Arch has handled this recruitment just like a pro, I think it’s really, really solid and I think he’ll play his college football at Texas.”

Rece Davis on how Texas’ move to the SEC impacted Arch Manning’s decision

The thing is, Texas is still going to join the SEC at some point during Manning’s career. Along with Oklahoma, the Longhorns are expected to leave the Big 12 for the league by 2025 — which would be Manning’s sophomore season. That move, coupled with his relationship with Texas, is a major reason Davis thinks Manning chose to attend Texas.

“We know when Texas is supposed to move to the SEC, but it could come earlier,” Davis said. “I think, certainly, by the time that Arch is entrenched, it could only be one year. He could wind up playing a couple of years in the SEC depending on how it unfolds. … [The Mannings’] ties to the SEC are deep.

“And I think — even with the relationship with Sarkisian — my gut tells me that if Texas weren’t going to the SEC at some point in Arch’s career, he might’ve made a different decision. But I think that certainly impacted it.”