Kirby Smart raves about Arch Manning's character with personal anecdote

During Arch Manning’s high-profile recruitment, Kirby Smart and Georgia were squarely in the conversation. The former New Orleans (La.) Isidore Newman star took multiple visits to Athens before ultimately committing to Texas.

This week, Manning will face Smart’s Bulldogs team for the first time. He does so fresh off a bye week and back-to-back strong showings, hoping to continue an upward trend following an up-and-down start to the season.

Smart praised Manning and the way he handled everything thrown at him this year, particularly the high expectations placed on his shoulders. Through it all, Smart noticed how Manning stayed humbled, rather than getting caught up in it all.

“How he’s handled everything, I would expect nothing less,” Smart said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “He’s got two uncles that have been through it and done it, been great advice for him. I promise you, they probably haven’t had to say a lot to him because he handles it so well. He said, ‘Look, I probably deserve the criticism if I’m not playing well.’

“It wasn’t like he was entitled to all the accolades. He did not earn those. He said that. I think he’s handled everything beautifully. He’s awesome to watch.”

Kirby Smart: Arch Manning is ‘a real class act’

Kirby Smart also recalled a personal story which showed Arch Manning’s true character. His son, Andrew, was playing in a big little league baseball tournament on TV and Manning happened to be watching. He texted Smart to say he had the game on. That interaction proved how Manning carries himself as a person.

“He texted me when my son was playing in a Little League World Series-type thing at the state level, and he was on TV,” Smart recalled. “He was like, ‘Hey, man. I’m watching Andrew right now pitching.’

“I’m like, man, this guy gets it. He cares about family members, he knows everybody’s name. He’s a real class act.”

Manning will square off against Georgia on Saturday night in perhaps Texas’ biggest game of the year to date. The Longhorns are fighting for their College Football Playoff lives, hoping to avoid a dreaded third loss that would all but assure they drop out of the projected 12-team bracket. A win, though, would go a long way toward helping them return to the national championship race.

For Georgia, a second loss might not be enough to drop the Bulldogs out of the bracket, but a win would secure their SEC resume with two non-conference games to go after Week 12. Smart’s group still has plenty at stake, as well.