Ryan Clark adamantly pushes back on Arch Manning being a 'generational talent'

Ryan Clark made headlines Tuesday when he boldly declared Texas redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning “is not a generational talent” following an uninspiring performance in last Saturday’s season-opening loss at Ohio State. Manning admittedly struggled through the first three quarters against the Buckeyes’ new-look defense before closing with a strong fourth quarter.

The youngest Manning scion, who entered the season as the Heisman Trophy favorite according to most sportsbooks, has since received plenty of criticism for his play Saturday. Many analysts have dunked on the 21-year-old quarterback with just three career collegiate starts under his belt.

That included Clark, who appeared on ESPN’s First Take on Thursday morning. There, he defended his take about Manning against fierce pushback from fellow ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky.

“That’s the thing, though, Dan, you’re trying to play this numbers game. But we don’t have to play a numbers game. We don’t have to play a miles-per-hour game to know that Arch Manning running the football ain’t like LaNorris Sellers running the football at South Carolina,” Clark said Thursday morning on First Take. “We don’t have to play a numbers game to know Arch Manning running the football is not like Jayden Daniels running the football vs. Florida when he went for 250. Those things are not the same. … And what I hate about it is, I think Arch Manning is going to be a really good quarterback. I think Arch Manning is talented. I love that he’s got dog in him. But generational talent is different.”

ESPN’s two prominent NFL analysts then argued about other “generational talents” at quarterback, with Orlovsky mentioning the Baltimore Ravens‘ Lamar Jackson, who was awarded the 2016 Heisman Trophy in his second collegiate season at Louisville. Manning, of course, redshirted his first season in Austin and then served as Quinn Ewers‘ backup QB during the 2024 season, making just two spot-starts when Ewers sat with an injury.

“You know why (Manning hasn’t played more)?” Clark responded. “Because if you’re Trevor Lawrence and you’re a transcendent, generational quarterback talent, Kelly Bryant can be the incumbent starter, take you to the College Football Playoff, you could only have played OK, and Dabo Swinney can (tell Lawrence), ‘You’re so damn talented, Kelly Bryant’s got to sit on the bench.’ … Quinn Ewers, a seventh-round pick, kept him on the bench for two years.”

Orlovsky then argued Ewers’ NIL made him a must-start over Manning in 2024. Of course, that led to an argument about what makes a “generational talent” in Clark’s perspective.

“There’s very few of them, I think there’s less of them than you think,” Clark concluded. “I think John Elway was a generational talent. I think Patrick Mahomes is a generational talent. I don’t think Tom Brady, … Drew Brees, (or) Peyton Manning are generational talents. I think Andrew Luck ended up being a generational talent. I don’t think there’s a ton of them out there.”

Of course, Manning has plenty of time to write his own narrative, and remains firmly in the Top 10 of BetMGM’s latest 2025 Heisman Trophy odds despite a precipitous fall following Saturday’s struggles. Whether or not he ultimately establishes himself as a true “generational talent” remains up for debate, and Clark, for one, isn’t backing down from his opinion to the contrary.