Urban Meyer calls out his critics over his offseason Arch Manning comments

Texas and quarterback Arch Manning entered the 2025 college football season on top of the world.

The Longhorns were ranked No. 1 in the preseason and Manning was lauded as the Heisman Trophy favorite. Through just five games however, they now sit outside the Top 25 Rankings and Manning ranks 14th in the SEC in QBR.

This disappointing start to the season came to a head last Saturday, as the then-No. 9 ranked Longhorns fell to Florida on the road 29-22. In that loss to the Gators, Manning passed for 263 yards and two touchdowns. He however also threw two interceptions and was sacked six times.

Through five games this season, Manning boasts just 1,151 passing yards (10th most in SEC) and 11 passing touchdowns (5th most in SEC). His five interceptions are tied for the second most in the conference, while his nine sacks rank fifth most.

Meyer defends his offseason comments about Manning

On the latest edition of ‘The Triple Option‘ podcast, College Football Hall of Famer Urban Meyer took a victory lap regarding his offseason takes about Manning.

“I got some pushback early in the summer because I said a few times, maybe on Colin Cowherd or something, to pump the brakes now,” Meyer said. “I mean I went back and watched all 48 snaps a year ago and he’s fine. I’ll never forget you looking at me Rob (Stone) in game one and saying ‘this is all these scouts’ potential No. 1 pick’ and I said ‘who?’ No, he’s not. Someday he might be.”

“Here’s the problem I have, and I kind of gave him benefit of the doubt against Ohio State because of the receivers. They still don’t look like Texas receivers. But Arch Manning week in and week out after five games, you should start to see the progression. That’s what happens to really good quarterbacks.”

“From Dwayne Haskins to J.T. Barrett to (Tim) Tebow to Alex Smith (the ones I had my hands on), I saw steady progression. Game three is better than game two. Game four is better than game three. Here’s my problem (with Arch)… not so fast.”

The former Ohio State coach was hesitant on hyping up Arch this offseason

Heading into the season, Meyer did not get caught up in the Arch Manning preseason hype.

“Arch Manning hasn’t done a thing yet,” Meyer said during an August episode of ‘The Joel Klatt Show‘. “I went back, because I’ve said that a few times and some people hit me back with ‘what are you talking about?’ I’m hearing the word ‘Heisman,’ I’m hearing the word ‘National Champion’ and ‘first pick overall.’ So I went back and rewatched (tape) just recently, and he’s a good player. I mean, he’s a really good player. But he’s not … get a couple of first downs.”

Manning will look to show Meyer some progression this weekend in Texas‘ ‘Red River Rivalry’ showdown against No. 6 Oklahoma. Kick-off for that matchup is scheduled for 3:30 PM on ABC.